Europa has again requested the closure of the Fòrum beach in Sant Adrià del Besòs, Barcelona, due to poor water quality.
This demand has been repeatedly raised by the European Environment Agency (EEA) since 2019.
In addition to this beach, the EEA has added three more areas in Catalonia that should also be closed for the same reason.
These areas are: part of the lake of Banyoles in Girona, the beach of Rec del Molí in L’Escala and the Torrassa reservoir in Guingueta d’Àneu in Lleida.
These conclusions are derived from a recently published agency report, which assesses water quality in bathing areas using data from the year 2022.
The Fòrum beach in Sant Adrià (Barcelona)
The Rec del Molí beach has been blacklisted again after having been removed from the list in 2021.
Although this beach had been among the bathing areas that the EEA recommended closing due to poor water quality since 2016, it managed to improve its classification in 2021, but has worsened again this year.
It is the first time that the European agency considers that the quality of the water from the lake of Banyoles to the Torrassa reservoir is so poor as to prohibit bathing in these areas.
In general, most of the bathing areas analyzed in Catalonia have a water quality rated as excellent.
However, there are some that receive a sufficient rating, such as the Nova Icària beach in Barcelona and the Ponent beach in Vilassar de Mar.
About water quality
The EEA has evaluated the water quality in a total of 2,268 bathing areas in Spain.
The results are mostly positive, as 88.2% of the areas analyzed have excellent water quality, 7.6% have good quality, 1.7% are sufficient and 1.6% are deficient.
Most of the bathing areas with poor water quality in Spain correspond to lakes and rivers.
Europe’s request to close the Fòrum beach in Sant Adrià del Besòs due to poor water quality is not new, as it has been raised for several years.
This highlights the need to take measures to address and improve water quality in these bathing areas, thus ensuring the safety and well-being of bathers.
The restrictions on bathing on the beaches of Barcelona are due to poor water quality, which represents a high risk to the health and well-being of bathers.
The presence of contaminants and lack of adequate treatment are factors that negatively affect water quality.
