The Region has postponed the start of the bathing season by a week due to the flood events that hit Romagna.
Each year a resolution of the Giunta establishes the duration of the season, understood as the period of time in which checks are carried out to protect the health of bathers. For 2023 the DGR n. 757 of 05/15/2023, had included it between 27 May and 30 September.
But then came the floods of the rivers and the overflowing waters that flooded cities and countryside, dragging with them earth, logs, residues of all kinds, sewage. In view of this emergency situation, ordinance n.11123 of 05/19/2023 recognized the need to postpone the start date of the bathing season by one week, in order to allow the normal state of the beaches to be restored and equipment, including those for the lifeguard service. The new term was identified as 2 June 2023.
As known, the monitoring of bathing water is entrusted to Arpae Emilia-Romagna and is carried out in the stations identified within each bathing water, where the greatest influx of bathers or the highest risk of pollution is expected and on the basis of the sampling calendar established by the Region.
The main object of the monitoring is the search for Escherichia coli and intestinal Enterococci which are considered the best indicators of faecal contamination. At each sampling point, the detection of marine weather parameters relating to meteorological conditions and the state of the sea is also envisaged.
In the period before the beginning of the bathing season, the pre-season samples foreseen by the regional calendar are carried out at each collection point, to verify the hygienic-sanitary conditions to guarantee the protection of the bather from the beginning of the bathing activity.
Download the latest bulletin here, with the sample checks carried out between 22 and 24 May, which talks about an extensive process of eutrophication of the waters in front of the Emilia Romagna coast, low salinity and poor transparency along the coast, due to the large amount of
material of terrigenous origin which gives, in high concentrations, a yellow clay colour.
