Before going for a dip in the Mediterranean or in the lakes and rivers of Hérault and Gard, get your neck wet and… take a look at the water quality. Like every summer, the regional health agency (ARS) of Occitanie delivered its study on the analyzes carried out by the sea and on fresh water bodies. We take stock.
Excellent for 65 zones
For those who love the beach, the results are excellent in the east of Occitania. In the Hérault, the 65 zones are classified as excellent quality, the highest classification awarded by the ARS. This is the case for all the beaches of La Grande-Motte, Carnon, Palavas-les-Flots, Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, Frontignan, Sète, Marseille, Agde, Vias, Portiragnes , Sérignan and Valras-Plage. But water of excellent quality does not prevent bathers from being vigilant. Occasionally, the ARS can detect contamination, which leads to a temporary closure of the site, such as Saint-Clair beach, at the end of summer 2021, in La Grande-Motte.
In freshwater bodies, the quality is more disparate
For those who prefer the wild charm of the Gard, all the beaches of Grau-du-Roi also have excellent water quality: Boucanet, the Right Bank, the Left Bank, Port-Camargue Nord, Port -South Camargue and Pointe de l’Espiguette.
In freshwater bodies, the balance sheet is more disparate. In the Hérault, of the 42 sites checked by the ARS, 29 are of excellent quality. This is the case of the most popular, such as the lakes of Salagou and Cécélès, the Carrière du Crès lake or the Devil’s bridge. Eight are of good quality, including the Moulin de Brunan or the Orb-Taillevent lake.
Red flag on the Bouloc, the Plantiers, the Gouffre Mourier and the Aumessas area,
Two sites, on the other hand, raise questions: Laroque-Hérault Le village, which has gone from good quality to sufficient quality in one year, and that of Agel-Cesse Le Boulidou, which has plummeted from excellent quality to sufficient. In these areas classified as orange, you can still take a dip. But “this shows that the site is fragile, explains Julien Faizandier, referent of bathing sites at the ARS. The operator must implement actions to improve the classification. »
Attention, red flag on the Bouloc lake, in Ceilhes and Rocozels, whose quality is insufficient. It was closed, pending the flushing out of the causes of the contamination.
And in the Gard?
In the Gard, of the 77 rivers and lakes monitored by the ARS, 52 have excellent water quality. This is the case of the Pont du Gard or the Gorges du Gardon. Fifteen have good quality water, notably the Rouquette and the Vigère. Two are only classified as being of sufficient quality, to the west of the department: the Rocher des Fées, which narrowly escapes the red alert, and the Aulas lake, which was previously of insufficient quality. .
Attention, three sites are classified as insufficient quality: the Plantiers, the Gouffre Mourier in Lasalle and the leisure area of Aumessas, which leads to the ban on swimming.
Information on the water quality of bathing areas is here.