Bathing waters

The use of modelling systems, integrated and assessed by observed data to forecast pollution events, can contribute to understand how the pollution sources compromise the quality of bathing waters, and to identify the related impact area and the critical points.

This information is fundamental to evaluate and orientate the best management measures to adopt for environmental protection and human health.

The implementation of efficient management measures requires the definition and sharing of criteria for analysing pressures as possible cause of degradation in the quality of bathing waters, as foreseen by the Bathing Directive EC/2006/7that asks for an integrated approach based on prevention.

This directive highlights the need of characterizing the pressures comprised in the profile of each bathing water.

However, the ordinary monitoring has often a duration and frequency not sufficient to characterize a pollution event as long as it is considered solved. In these cases, the use of mathematical modelling to forecast and analyse a pollution event represents a valid support for planning and optimising monitoring protocols.