These 3 European Countries Just Tied for the Cleanest Lakes and Rivers, Report Finds

While Europe’s seas might be tempting, the lakes and rivers of three countries are so clean they need to be seen to be believed.

Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania were all found to have the cleanest inland waters in Europe, according to a recently released report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) in cooperation with the European Commission. All three tied for the top spot, with 100 percent of their inland sites receiving top ranks.

Every year, the report ranks the cleanest swimming water among all the EU states, plus Switzerland and Albania, using data that takes into account annual assessments of bacterial contaminants, including Escherichia coli (or E. coli) and intestinal enterococci. Since bacteria can enter into the water through sewage discharge and agricultural runoff, national and local authorities test thousands of water spots, including beaches, rivers, and swimming holes.

“We can all be glad that a vast majority of our bathing waters are clean enough to swim in. This is thanks to systematic work under EU rules which has steadily improved the health of our waters. It shows that monitoring and coordination at the European level benefits every one of us,” Leena Ylä-Mononen, the EEA executive director, said in a statement. “Of course, there is more to do to improve the cleanliness of our waters and their resilience to withstand new challenges posed by climate change and over-use.”

The report notes coastal sites have a higher percentage of excellent grades than inland water sites, with 89 percent of Europe’s coastal sites receiving top marks and only 78 percent of the inland sites receiving the same ranking.

In Bulgaria, Greece, and Romania, very few sites were tested, perhaps contributing to their perfect scores. In Bulgaria, the Pchelina Reservoir and two other inland waters were tested, while in Romania, Lake Ciuperca received top marks.

Greece may be famous for its sea beaches, but it is also worth checking out the many lakes and rivers to swim in throughout the country. And while both Bulgaria and Romania have Black Sea coasts, the lakes of their more mountainous inland regions are worth a swim.

Austria and Finland also ranked highly for the cleanliness of their inland waters at 95.8 percent and 93.8 percent, respectively, with each having a much higher number of inland bodies of water tested (260 for Austria and 225 for Finland).