Bulgaria's Northern Black Sea Coast Offers Cleanest Bathing Zones

All bathing zones in Bulgaria meet the quality standards set out in domestic and European laws, according to Dimitar Dimitrov, head of the Public Health Directorate at the Ministry of Health.

Speaking at a press conference Friday, Dimitrov made clear that there were a total of 90 bathing zones on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast (Burgas, Varna and Dobrich districts), as well as 4 inland bathing zones (Kardzhali and Razgrad).

Dimitrov, as cited by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), emphasized that no bathing zone had been flagged as a "no-go zone".

He admitted that water samples had revealed poor water quality at some spots, adding that repeat testing had shown that the cases involved short-term contamination.

Dimitrov informed that the results he presented involved samples taken by August 8.

He said that the cleanest beaches were at Bulgaria's northern Black Sea coast, far away from populated territories, like Rusalka and Shabla, and south of Varna, near Primorsko.

The Director of the Public Health Directorate noted that, for yet another year in a row, the bathing water quality was worst at beaches near Varna.

He said that ases of bathing water contaminated with untreated wastewater had been reported near Tsarevo, Golden Sands, Ravda and Varna.

Dimitrov specified that Varna's problem with bathing water quality had already been resolved after Environment Minister Nona Karadzhova unveiled an upgraded wastewater treatment plant in the city.

He pointed out that six populated areas on the Black Sea coast lacked wastewater treatment plants.

Dimitrov went on to say that the waters of the Bulgarian section of the Danube River were totally unsuitable for bathing and there were no options to improve its quality.

He urged district governors to issue bathing bans all along the Danube banks.

Dimitrov drew attention to the fact that Bulgaria ranked 5th or 6th in an EU bathing water quality ranking for 2011, with the country expected to climb up in the 2012 edition of the survey.