European bathing water quality report: 93 per cent of Finnish bathing waters are of good or excellent quality
It is safe to swim at public beaches in Finland. Most of Finnish bathing waters, about 93 per cent, were classified as being of excellent or good quality. This is one percentage point less than in the previous monitoring period. This information is available in the European Environment Agency’s recently published bathing water quality report.
The report contains bathing water quality data from all public beaches. In the summer of 2024, Finland had a total of 303 public beaches, 225 of which were inland and 78 coastal beaches.
The lowest acceptable bathing water category, sufficient, included 12 beaches (4 per cent), which is three more beaches than in the previous monitoring period. The quality of bathing water on three beaches (1 per cent) was classified as poor, which is two fewer beaches than in the previous monitoring period.
Over 96 per cent of inland bathing waters were classified as excellent or good quality. Over 83 per cent of all coastal bathing waters were classified as excellent or good, which is three percentage points less than last year.
This is explained by the increased share of bathing waters classified as satisfactory at coastal beaches. Two of the satisfactory bathing waters were at an inland beach and ten at coastal beaches. All three bathing waters classified as poor were at a coastal beach.
Bathing water assessed on beaches that have been monitored for several summers
Four new beaches in Finland were left without a quality classification, as water quality had not been monitored for long enough yet. In addition to the above, two other beaches were not classified. One of the beaches was closed during the 2024 bathing season and, due to inadequate sampling, the number of samples was too small to determine the bathing water classification of the other one.
The report on European bathing water quality classifies the quality of bathing water on the beaches where the water’s concentrations of bacteria indicating intestinal contamination have been monitored regularly over four bathing seasons. The monitoring of bacteria concentrations enables, for example, assessing the impact of wastewater on the bathing water. The prevalence or abundance of blue-green algae is not taken into account when determining the bathing water classification.
“It is a delight to see that the share of beaches with a poor quality has decreased compared to the previous monitoring period. The share of bathing waters classified in the best bathing water categories has decreased, and the share of satisfactory waters has increased, especially on the coast. For example, wastewater that ends up in bathing water and wild animals’ faeces may deteriorate the quality of bathing water. Also keep in mind that coastal bathing waters are subject to stricter quality thresholds,” says Outi Zacheus, Senior Planning Officer at THL.
Basic data on individual beaches and bathing water classifications based on monitoring are available on EEA’s online service.
During the bathing season in the summer, information on the quality of bathing waters will be provided at the beaches and on the municipalities’ websites, for example. This information will not be updated in EEA’s online service during the bathing season.
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare reports the results of municipal health protection authorities’ bathing water monitoring to the European Commission annually. The recently published report is based on the monitoring in the bathing seasons of 2021‒2024. The report consolidates country-specific bathing water quality summaries and the monitoring results of approximately 22,000 European beaches.
Further information
European bathing water quality in 2024 (European Environment Agency)
Finnish bathing water quality in 2024 (European Environment Agency)
Outi Zacheus
Senior Planning Officer
THL
tel. +358 29 524 6374
[email protected]
