The quality of bathing waters in mainland Portugal worsened this year, with bathing restrictions increasing by 65% and prohibitions more than doubling between May and July, according to an analysis released today by the ZERO association.
In a press release, the environmental association explains that the analysis was based on comparing the monthly status reports from the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and the Directorate-General of Health (DGS) for May, June and July of the 2025 and 2026 bathing seasons.
From that analysis, ZERO concluded that restrictions rose from 51 (2025) to 84 (2026), representing a 65% increase, despite the number of identified bathing waters having fallen from 526 to 523.
Advisories against bathing increased from 34 to 45, while prohibitions decreed by health authorities rose from 17 to 39, a 129% increase, with microbiological contamination the main cause in both cases, according to the same source.
“The number of prohibitions due to microbiological contamination rose from 14 to 34, a 143% increase, concentrated mainly in July,” ZERO stressed, noting that in that month 30 prohibitions were recorded for this cause, more than double the 14 recorded in the same period in 2025.
In an expanded assessment of the bathing season, with data available up to August 30, ZERO identified 68 bathing waters across the country that had at least one instance of water unfit for bathing, totaling 87 occurrences, noting that it did not have the full data for the Azores and had partial information for Madeira.
Of these 68 bathing waters, 32 are inland, 29 coastal, and seven transitional, with inland waters responsible for 47% of unfit-water situations, although they represent only about 30% of the bathing waters identified in mainland Portugal.
The environmental association highlighted the Unhais da Serra beaches (Covilhã), with four occurrences of unfit water, and Cabedelo (Figueira da Foz), with three, while Matosinhos is the municipality with the highest number of affected bathing waters, totaling seven.
“ZERO expresses its concern about the inability, year after year, to reduce the occurrences of water unfit for bathing — the comparison made so far between the years 2025 and 2026 shows precisely the opposite, with a sharp worsening in both the advisories against bathing and, above all, in prohibitions due to microbiological contamination,” it warned.
As causes, the association pointed to “deficiencies in the sanitation network, agricultural and industrial discharges, and diffuse pollution.”
“Beyond preventive measures, strong and systematic inspection action is needed, with a clear identification of responsibilities,” argues ZERO.
The association also highlighted that two of the 73 Zero Pollution Beaches named in May this year recorded water unfit for bathing in 2026, namely Arda (Viana do Castelo) and Agudela (Matosinhos), and therefore will not be able to maintain that distinction in 2027.
