A new label to guarantee clean bathing waters

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A new label to guarantee clean bathing waters




by recyclinage » 21/07/09, 15:06

A new label to guarantee clean bathing waters

Anne CHAON (AFP) - 20 hours ago

CAVALAIRE, Var - A new label guaranteeing the quality of bathing water, based on demanding specifications and sampling throughout the summer season, should allow the French coastal municipalities to advance the entry into force of the new regulations in 2015.

The new logo - a magnifying glass and a swimmer stylized against a backdrop of blue and white waves - was symbolically awarded Monday to the commune of Cavalaire, on the Côte d'Azur, by the Secretary of State for Ecology, Chantal Jouanno.

Cavalaire, 6.700 inhabitants out of season, sees its population increase tenfold during the summer: it is therefore during this period, when the crowd piles up on its golden sand and not in the middle of winter, that the town has since 1956, takes samples of seawater, three times a week from mid-June to mid-September.

"It doesn't look like much to unveil a sign," remarked Ms. Jouanno, planting the logo on the beach at the Park. “But we don't realize the work behind it”.

The specifications for the “Bathing Water Quality Approach” label, developed by Bureau Veritas, are ruthless: identification of all potential sources of pollution and implementation of indicators to anticipate them; compulsory surveillance throughout the bathing season by regular sampling; and commitment to inform the public in the event of a problem.

"Here in Cavalaire, the main problem would come from the occurrence of a thunderstorm after a long dry period", explains Perrine Desbureaux, who led the project at Veritas.

“Previously, we were mainly interested in the consequences of pollution and relatively little in what passed downstream. However, 80% of pollution comes from land and the remaining 20% ​​is caused by boats,” recalls Chantal Jouanno.

On the other hand, a temporary overpopulation of the beaches (8.000 people per day in Cavalaire), even whitewashed with sunscreen, does not pose a problem, assures Jean-Philippe Morin, in charge of sampling at the Marine Observatory of Cavalaire, created in 1994.

It is he who sends his teams to draw their sample to a meter of minimum depth and 50 cm below the surface.

Bacteria are the most feared enemies, including Escherichia coli (E. coli) and enterococci, which trigger violent gastritis and would immediately force the closure of swimming.

Aside from thunderstorms, Mr. Morin closely monitors the large boats at anchor, likely to dump their dirty water in the bay.

For land side, Cavalaire has engaged since the middle of the 90 years a clean port approach and especially has 2006 a wastewater treatment plant standards shared with Ramatuelle.

"Our environment is our Eiffel Tower: our entire economy depends on it", explains the mayor of the city, Annick Napoléon.

To date, nine coastal municipalities have already met the criteria of the new logo. But there are about 3.200 left. But even if 1,5 billion euros were released this winter by the state to accelerate the work, many municipalities are still without a treatment plant.

The situation in the Maritime Alps is particularly worrying. As well as on some Breton coasts where the waters of the fields laden with nitrates run directly into the sea.

From the entry into force of European regulations in 2015, any beach where the quality of the water is deemed "insufficient" must be absolutely closed: last year, they were 131 in this case, according to a study by the Surfrider association.

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved



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recyclinage
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by recyclinage » 27/07/09, 18:53

France - The Secretary of State for Ecology, Chantal Jouanno, presented on Monday the new label for bathing waters more demanding as to the evaluation criteria to hoist the Blue Flag.

Based in particular on samples taken throughout the summer season and the obligation to inform the public, the new label for bathing water should allow French beaches to advance the entry into force of the new European regulations in 2015.

The specifications for the "Bathing Water Quality Approach" label were drawn up by Bureau Veritas and require that all potential sources of pollution be identified and that indicators be put in place to anticipate them. It also provides for bathing water to be monitored throughout the summer season by means of regular samples and commits the municipalities to inform the public in the event of a problem.

Four levels can then be awarded, from "very good" to "insufficient" in which case the beach will have to be closed to the public from 2015, the year in which European regulations were implemented.

Nine municipalities today meet the criteria of this new label including Cavalaire, on the Côte d'Azur, which was symbolically given the logo in the presence of Chantal Jouanno. But many municipalities do not yet have a treatment plant despite the budget of 1,5 billion euros released by the government to accelerate the progress of work.








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