During the 2024 bathing season, only nine out of the 2,291 German bathing waters were rated as ‘poor’. To protect the health of swimmers, swimming was prohibited or advised against on 148 occasions as a precaution. The primary reasons were either excessive growth of cyanobacteria (commonly known as ‘blue-green algae’) or the effects of heavy, persistent rainfall. In the past year, such rainfall led to high water levels and flooding in parts of southern Germany. Heavy rainfall caused runoff and the inflow of contaminated water, impairing hygienic water quality and leading to swimming bans. In other cases, forecasts and early warning systems indicated a risk of pollution in bathing waters.
An overview of all of Germany’s bathing waters
The latest monitoring data for individual bathing sites can be viewed online on the website of the respective federal states (Bundesländer). A nationwide overview is available via a new interactive map application from the Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG). In addition to the current quality classifications, data from previous reporting years is also accessible. Similarly, the website of the European Environment Agency (EEA) provides information on bathing water quality in other European countries.
From sampling to final reporting
The monitoring of bathing waters in Germany is carried out by the federal states. They take water samples and submit the data they have collected to the BfG at the end of the season. This data includes, among other things, the results of the water hygiene analyses. The BfG and UBA compile the datasets, check them for consistency, and forward them to the European Commission on behalf of the Federal Ministry for the Environment. There, the data from all EU member states are evaluated by the EEA, and the quality of the bathing waters is assessed. In the form of an annual report, the EU Commission informs the public about the quality of bathing waters in the previous bathing season.
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