Despite the overall safety of European bathing waters for summer swimming, Belgium has emerged as one of the poorest performers in a new report by the European Environment Agency (EEA), falling significantly below the EU average for water quality.
The EEA’s 2024 assessment, which examined over 22,000 designated bathing sites across the European Union, as well as in Albania and Switzerland, classified water quality based on the presence of bacteria linked to pollution from sewage and agricultural runoff.
Each site was labelled as having ‘excellent’, ‘good’, ‘sufficient’, or ‘poor’ water quality. While 96% of bathing waters in the EU meet at least the minimum safety requirements, Belgium lags behind most of its peers, with only 69.2% of its waters rated as ‘excellent’.
This places Belgium fifth from the bottom among all countries assessed, outperforming only Hungary (67%), Estonia (61.5%), Poland (58.1%), and Albania (16%). The EU average for ‘excellent’ classification stands at 85%.
Still, Belgium fared relatively well in avoiding the lowest category, with only 0.8% of its bathing sites marked as having ‘poor’ water quality.
The majority of the remaining sites were considered ‘sufficient’ or ‘good’, indicating that while Belgium struggles to reach top-tier ratings, most of its bathing waters are still safe for swimmers.
The findings reflect a broader regional trend: coastal areas tend to have cleaner bathing water than inland sites, which are more vulnerable to pollution spikes after rainfall or during drought.
“Many of central Europe’s inland bathing waters are found in relatively small lakes, ponds and rivers with a low flow,” the EEA stated. “These inland waters are more susceptible than coastal areas to short-term pollution caused by heavy rains or droughts, especially in the summer.”
Belgium’s coastal waters generally fare better, but inland waters—like those in Wallonia and the Brussels region—often drag the national score down.
Activist events like the “Big Jump” in Anderlecht, where citizens plunge into local rivers to demand cleaner water, have highlighted public concern about the state of Belgium’s waterways.
Neighbouring countries performed slightly better in the 2024 rankings. The Netherlands achieved a 72.5% excellence rate, while France posted 74.2%. Germany emerged as one of the top performers in the EU with 90.5% of its waters rated ‘excellent’.
At the top of the leaderboard, Cyprus led the EU with 99.2% of its bathing waters classified as ‘excellent’, followed by Bulgaria (97.9%), Greece (97%), Austria (95.8%), and Croatia (95.2%).
“Europeans can bathe with confidence in the vast majority of bathing sites in the EU that meet quality standards,” said European Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall, noting that steady improvements over the years reflect successful environmental monitoring and enforcement efforts.
Nevertheless, for Belgium, the report is a reminder that more investment and policy action are needed to ensure not just safe, but excellent water quality—particularly inland.
