Estonian beaches' water quality trailing other EU countries
The peak swimming season has begun in Estonia and across Europe. However, Estonia's water quality ranks below the European Union average.
A newly published report by the European Environment Agency shows that while 85 percent of swimming sites in the European Union have excellent water quality, Estonia ranks among the worst in Europe. Bathing water quality was assessed in four categories: poor, sufficient, good and excellent.
"The report does not provide a very good overview of our water quality. We reported data from 65 bathing sites last year and only three of them were rated poor. I wouldn't say that our water quality is poor," said Pilleriin Kalmus, head of water health safety at the Health Board.
Water quality is affected by fertilizers used in agriculture, but during the summer, it is most heavily influenced by bacteria and algae that multiply at bathing sites.
"It depends on what kind of bacteria they are, whether they are pathogenic or not," said Sergei Preis, head of the Environmental Technology Research Laboratory at Tallinn University of Technology. "It also depends on how much we ourselves pollute the water, because pathogenic microorganisms do not survive in water for very long. If they are present, it means there is a source of pollution somewhere nearby," he added.
According to Kalmus, collecting more samples could improve Estonia's position in the rankings.
"Weather conditions in Estonia are highly variable. If a sample is taken after heavy rainfall or strong winds, or if follow-up samples are not collected because only a few samples are taken overall, the results can be affected. At some bathing sites, four samples are taken during an entire season, while at others, four samples are taken every month," Kalmus said.
Human activity remains the main factor behind pollution at bathing sites.
"To reduce pollution, residents should pay attention to what is happening, because pollution does not appear on its own. It comes from uncontrolled sources somewhere. People could simply point out where they believe the pollution is entering the water," Preis said.
This bathing season, 54 official bathing sites are open to swimmers in Estonia.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski, Marko Tooming
