France · Gironde
Canal water quality
Is it clean? Yes — the water meets EU standards
Canal's official 2025 EU Bathing Water rating is Good — meets the EU bathing-water standard in the latest annual assessment. 4 of the 5 classified seasons on record have rated Excellent or Good.
11-year classification history
Official EEA classification, one rating per bathing season, 2015–2025 — real data reported by national authorities.
- 2015: Not classified2015
- 2016: Not classified2016
- 2017: Not classified2017
- 2018: Not classified2018
- 2019: Not classified2019
- 2020: Not classified2020
- 2021: Good2021
- 2022: Good2022
- 2023: Excellent2023
- 2024: Sufficient2024
- 2025: Good2025
Good in the most recent season, and 4 of 5 classified years rated Excellent or Good.
- Excellent
- Good
- Sufficient
- Poor
- Not classified
View as table
| Year | Classification |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Not classified |
| 2016 | Not classified |
| 2017 | Not classified |
| 2018 | Not classified |
| 2019 | Not classified |
| 2020 | Not classified |
| 2021 | Good |
| 2022 | Good |
| 2023 | Excellent |
| 2024 | Sufficient |
| 2025 | Good |
- 2015Not classified — not enough samples in this year to assign an official rating.
- 2016Not classified — not enough samples in this year to assign an official rating.
- 2017Not classified — not enough samples in this year to assign an official rating.
- 2018Not classified — not enough samples in this year to assign an official rating.
- 2019Not classified — not enough samples in this year to assign an official rating.
- 2020Not classified — not enough samples in this year to assign an official rating.
- 2021Good — meets the EU bathing-water standard in the latest annual assessment.
- 2022Good — meets the EU bathing-water standard in the latest annual assessment.
- 2023Excellent — the highest official classification under the EU bathing-water assessment.
- 2024Sufficient — meets the minimum EU standard in the latest annual assessment.
- 2025Good — meets the EU bathing-water standard in the latest annual assessment.
2026 in-season sample timeline
No individual in-season sample feed has been published for Canal yet. The official 2025 classification above, from the annual EU Bathing Water report, is the most current rating available for this beach.
How measurement works
Under the EU Bathing Water Directive, national authorities take water samples through the bathing season and test them for two indicator bacteria: intestinal enterococci and E. coli. Higher counts of either indicate a greater risk of contamination from sewage or agricultural runoff.
At the end of each season, the full set of results is reported to the European Environment Agency, which assigns one of four classifications — Excellent, Good, Sufficient or Poor — based on the statistical spread of the last four seasons' samples, not a single reading. That's why the rating published in spring 2026 covers the 2025 season, and why one bad sample doesn't necessarily change the rating on its own.
Official bathing water profile ↗ · ← Back to the Canal overview · Sea temperature at Canal →
Frequently asked questions
Is Canal a safe beach for swimming?
It checks out — Good is the official 2025 EU Bathing Water rating, and 4 of 5 classified seasons on record have rated Excellent or Good. That applies to the water around Gironde.
How is bathing water quality measured?
National authorities test for two indicator bacteria — intestinal enterococci and E. coli — in water samples taken through the bathing season, then report the full season's results to the European Environment Agency the following spring, which assigns one of four classifications (Excellent, Good, Sufficient or Poor) under the EU Bathing Water Directive. Some national authorities, including Croatia's IZOR, also publish individual in-season samples ahead of that annual report; that isn't yet available for Canal.
How often is the water tested?
The annual classification draws on a whole season of sampling (usually 4+ samples, May–September), published just once the following spring. There's no in-season sample feed yet for Canal, so the annual rating above is the latest available figure.