Water quality at the nation's beaches - Superb

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Quercus, Portugal's national association of nature conservation groups has issued a statement regarding the water quality at the nation's beaches. According to Quercus, 286 of Portugal's beaches meet their gold standard; this is 17 more than in the previous year. Most of the gold standard beaches are located in Albufeira.

"Albufeira is the council with the greatest number beaches with gold standard water quality (with 18 beaches), followed by Almada and Vila Nova de Gaia (15), Torres Vedras and Vila do Bispo (10)," read the statement released on 1 June to coincide with the beginning of the official bathing season on 1 June.

Proença-a-nova has the largest number of gold standard quality non-coastal beaches this year, two. In the statement, Quercus disclosed that they use water quality data from the last five years to evaluate the beaches, saying that their goal is to demonstrate consistently high water quality.

Beaches where less than five years of water quality data was available were not evaluated by Quercus. This includes beaches which have recently addressed issues with pollution as well as those whose water quality was found to be less than excellent in the previous year's bathing season.

Out of the 515 beaches and non-coastal bathing areas evaluated by Quercus, 92% met the group's criteria for excellent water quality. 447 of the beaches and bathing areas were deemed excellent, 32 were classified as good, 7 were considered acceptable and one beach in Castelo do Queijo, Oporto was categorized as bad.

The data used by Quercus in their beach classification is provided by the Water Institute, part if the SNIRH (National Water Resource Information System) and is in compliance with the latest European Union standards for water quality at beaches and bathing areas.

The statement bemoans that there are still interior water sources in Portugal which "continue to be vulnerable to pollution, especially through faults in basic sanitation and problems with the management of the hydrographical basin."


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Published in: Portuguese Life