Bathing water quality at bathing sites in Kastela (Croatia) in the period of application of the Bathing Water Directive 2006/7/EC

We analyzed and discussed bathing water quality at 11 official bathing sites in Kastela (Croatia) in the period 2009-2022. The results showed spatial and temporal variations in quality. The worst bathing water quality was in the eastern part of the area, at beaches Torac, Kamp and Gojaca. Levels of indicator microorganisms at identified sources of fecal pollution near these beaches indicate a significant load of fecal material to these areas. The observed decrease in annual fecal indicator bacteria exceedances, while not statistically significant, indicates a trend toward improvement in water quality. The number of sites with worse annual and final assessment showed a decreasing trend only since 2017 and 2020, respectively, which is not a 'sufficient' time period to draw a clear conclusion about the trend. The improvements are probably the result of intensive work in recent years to improve the sewage system in the area.In the annual and final assessment, bathing sites from Kastela with 'poor' water quality accounted on average for more than 27% of all waters with 'poor' quality in Croatia. This implies that additional efforts are needed to eliminate the sources of fecal pollution in the area.