Greek beaches score high for cleanliness

Greece ranked third in an annual study carried out by the European Environment Agency when it comes to the cleanliness of its waters.

As part of the European Bathing Water Quality study in 2016, 1,542 locations were tested across Greece – two were lakes – and 97 percent of them had excellent water quality.

The tests were conducted between June 1 and October 31, 2016, and only one beach was not ranked “good” or “excellent.”

Two percent of the samples were not included in the study as they were from locations that had not been tested before, and therefore changes in quality analyzed were not possible.

Though the number of locations tested in Greece was among the highest – considering how much coastline the country has – plenty of swimming locations were not included in the study.

For instance, only six locations on the island of Naxos were tested, though there are many more bathing beaches on the island.

Swimming waters across Greece have been tested annually for the study since 1988.

Since 1995, 93 percent of the swimming water tested in the country has complied with the strict European Union regulations.

In 2012, the website www.bathingwaterprofiles.gr was launched, where anyone can find information about the cleanliness of various swimming locations around Greece.

Among the other countries in the study, Luxembourg came in first place while Cyprus and Malta were tied in second.

Croatia also fared well, as 94 percent of its tested swimming locations were of excellent quality. Italy had a 91 percent rate of excellent water among the 5,518 locations tested there, while the rate for Spain came to 85 percent and France 77 percent.