Good quality of French bathing waters
Each year, the ARS (Regional Health Agencies) organise bathing water quality monitoring on more than 3350 sites in France.
The quality of bathing waters is governed by European Directive 2006/7/EC, which lays down microbiological criteria for assessing water quality.
For inland waters:
| Parameter | Excellent quality | Good quality | Sufficient | Reference methods of analysis |
| Intestinal enterococci (cfu/100 ml) | 200 | 400 | 330 | ISO 7899-1 or ISO 7899-2 |
| Escherichia coli (cfu/100 ml) | 500 | 1000 | 900 | ISO 9308-3 or 9308-1 |
For coastal waters and transitional waters:
| Parameter | Excellent quality | Good quality | Sufficient | Reference methods of analysis |
| Entérocoques intestinaux (UFC/100ml) | 100 | 200 | 185 | ISO 7899-1 or ISO 7899-2 |
| Escherichia coli (cfu/100 ml) | 250 | 500 | 500 | ISO 9308-3 or 9308-1 |
Figures for the 2017 bathing season :
– 3 379 bathing sites were inspected in metropolitan France and overseas France
– 34441 Water Sampling
– 90.9% of sites were classified as excellent or of good quality (Results stable compared to 2016 and 2015 (91%)
– 2.4% of sites were classified as poor quality (slight improvement compared to 2016 (2.5%) and 2015 (2.9%))
Please note that your Phytocontrol laboratory is accredited for the research of intestinal enterococci and Escherichia coli in fresh water, waste water and saline and brackish water according to standards NF EN ISO 7899-1 and NF EN ISO 9308-3. Please find attached the details of our scope of accreditation : N°1-6066.
For any technical, pricing or regulatory information, do not hesitate to contact us.
