Water policy: quality of bathing water

The Commission proposal aimed to simplify, consolidate and update the 1975 Bathing Water Directive without decreasing the level of protection for the health of bathers and the environment. In the light of experience and scientific progress, the proposed revision mainly involved: - consolidating and simplifying the existing texts, particularly with regard to the rules on assessing the water's conformity with the criteria; - amending certain physico-chemical and microbiological parameters by giving Member States the freedom to determine the strictest values and to set values for parameters not included in the directive; - improving information: the directive included the requirement to display notices indicating the quality of water in bathing areas and set out the corrective measures planned in the case of pollution. The Member States should prohibit bathing when imperative values were exceeded significantly. The new text required: - from the Member States: . measures on the quality of bathing water; . an annual statistical report, submitted to the Commission, on the quality of bathing water; . monitoring of all discharges that were likely to damage the quality of the water; . implementation of the actions needed to protect the quality of bathing water; - from the Commission: . maintenance and updating of the database on the quality of bathing water in the Community; . annual publication of a report on the quality of bathing water throughout the Community; . submission of proposals aimed at adapting the directive to technical progress; . technical assistance to the Member States with a view to ensuring the compatibility of the databases. �