Good news for those that enjoy swimming in Luxembourg lakes, as not only has the water quality been approved by the European Environment Agency, the lakes have actually been given the top rating of “excellent.”

All 11 swimming locations in the Grand Duchy in the regions of Weiswampach, Haute-Sûre, and Remerschen have been classed with excellent quality waters according to the EEA figures published on Tuesday.

This means that all bathing waters are free of pollutants that can harm human health and the environment.

In total, only five countries were rated “excellent” for 95% of their bathing waters: Luxembourg for all of its 11 swimming areas, Cyprus and Malta for 99% of their waters, Greece for 97% and Austria for 95%.

Countries with the poorest quality water for swimming were Italy with 100 poor quality swimming areas or 1.8%, France with 82 swimming area at 2.4%, and Spain with 39 at 1.8%.

The report from the EEA and the European Commission confirms a positive trend for the water quality of beaches and bathing areas throughout Europe, steadily improving over the last 40 years.

The evaluation includes analyses of water samples taken from more than 21,000 coastal and inland bathing resorts, and is a good indication of where the best bathing waters with the highest water quality can be found this summer. Water samples are taken and examined for faecal contamination by sewage or animal excrement.