Surfrider Europe's Bathing Waters Program

Surfrider Europe’s Bathing Waters program is a surveillance network complimentary to existing water testing programs that communicates information on coastal water quality throughout the year. As the quality of our bathing water is more and more under threat, Surfrider Foundation Europe is taking action to arm users of the coastline with better information and to ensure that water sports enthusiasts are not forgotten.

So far, Surfrider has set up three independent laboratories to better understand the pollution problems of the coastlines, focusing on beaches that are not considered ‘bathing water’ by the 2006 directive that drives water quality testing in these regions.

Beach water quality data from the Bilboa and Marseilles laboratories are available online. Surfrider has plans to expand their water testing program with three additional labs yet to open.

The Bathing Waters program provides clear, water quality information valuable to those practicing nautical activities. Surfrider Europe is also using this program as a base of dialogue with local authorities to encourage the government to expand their program to protect beaches that are enjoyed by sport enthusiasts (surfing, sailing, kite boarding, windsurfing) as well as traditional ‘bathing beaches’. Learn more about this program and Surfrider Europe's other initiatives on their website.