The European Environment Agency (EEA) launched the Eye on Earth – Water Watch campaign for Europe. The idea is that everyone gets information about bathing site all over Europe.
Through the new portal users can rate beaches and share their comments with others. So it is easy to get an overview about the cleanness of a beach. From the technological site EEA is working together with Microsoft using their Virtual Earth platform to visualize geographic information. Everyone can monitor beach water quality along the coasts and of lakes and report quality concerns.
Water quality of the Wörthersee. Click on the image for larger view.
Official introduction on the homepage of the EEA:
Every year, millions of Europeans spend their summer vacations by coastal or inland waters. The quality of the bathing water at their destination can be a key factor in deciding where to go. Now with Eye on Earth, holidaymakers will not only be able to check the latest information available on the water quality at their possible destinations, but also read comments posted by others who have already been there.
“Bathing water information is only a first step in our collaboration with Microsoft. We will gradually expand this two-way communication platform to include other environmental information, such as biodiversity and air quality”, said Professor Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the EEA.
The bathing water application retrieves information from more than 21,000 monitoring points across Europe. For all these bathing sites, the portal presents information from recent years. For some countries, including Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Portugal and Slovakia, the portal also displays the latest 2008 rating available.
Eye on Earth allows users to zoom in on a given section of the coast or riverbank, both in street map or bird’s eye viewing formats. A ‘traffic-light’ evaluation (red, amber, green) of water quality based on scientific monitoring methods is supported by similar ratings reflecting the experiences of people who have visited the bathing site.
As part of the five-year partnership announced last May, the EEA and Microsoft will continue to develop the Eye on Earth portal by adding new sets of environmental information.
Link: http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/heading-for-your-favourite-beach-is-the-bathing-water-clean
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