Awareness of people and priority about the choice of bathing zones at the Black Sea seaside of Varna region

Abstract

Introduction: Providing information about the quality of the seawater in bathing zones is in accordance with the European and Bulgarian legislation. Testing and controlling seawater purity is extremely important for preventing illnesses. Aim: The aim of this article is to study the awareness of people about the quality of seawater in the Varna region; to study the factors that define people`s choice of bathing zones and evaluate it according to the classification of European Commission. Results: The development and improvement of European and national standards of treating seawater have significant importance for the constant bathing water quality improvement through the years. There are the following priorities in people`s choice of bathing zones: `good infrastructure`, `easy access` - 48.3% followed by bathing water quality - 43.3% of participants. Better educated people choose more often according to the water quality - 53% of participants with higher education compared to 31.5% of people with secondary education, p<0.05 at I‡2 5,616. The information submitted according to European and Bulgarian legislation is not sufficient - 91.7% of the participants need more information about the quality of seawater in a bathing zone they would visit and only 8.3% do not need any. It has been noticed that 27.7%, or 1/4, of participants have pointed out that they would not visit a `poor` quality zone, while in fact they normally do visit such type of zones. Conclusion: The existing standard for bathing water quality monitoring is well organized and absolutely in accordance with international and European trends in the field. The participants in the survey do not know the health risks of bathing in polluted water. Better educated people consider water quality a factor defining their choice of bathing places.