Bathing beaches are declared by the Ministry of the Interior based, among other things, on a sanitation assessment from the Ministry of Health.
Bathing beaches exist in Israel along the Mediterranean sea, the Red Sea, the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea.
The seas and the bathing beaches are exposed to various contaminations, such as: malfunctions of sewage systems, industrial wastewater, polluted streams, municipal drainage systems, vessels and, occasionally, the bathers themselves.
To safeguard the bathers’ health, the Ministry of Health has specified a
Water Quality Standard for beaches, as well as a prohibition on bathing in cases of pollution or suspected pollution.
A beach shall be disqualified for bathing if one or more of the following criteria apply:
- Existence of epidemiological evidence of cases of infectious diseases related to bathing at the specific beach.
- Presence of a wastewater or treated waste water outlet to the sea in the vicinity of the bathing beach, which may potentially pollute the beach.
- Discovery of traces of excrement on the beach or in the seawater.
- Presence of substances which, in the opinion of the Ministry of Health, might endanger the health of the bathers.
- Exceeding the numeric standards, as per the findings:
A. A test result exceeding 105 Enterococcus bacteria.
B. A test result exceeding 400 fecal coliforms.
The water quality of the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea is sampled for the presence of fecal enterococci bacteria, whereas the shores of Lake Kinneret are sampled for the presence of fecal coliforms.
During the bathing season, the waters of every bathing beach are sampled by the local authorities at least once a week (except for the Dead Sea beaches, due to their high salinity) and the samples are sent for laboratory testing. During the winter months the beaches are sampled once a month. The beaches which are open for bathing in winter are sampled as in the summer months. The results are supervised by the Ministry of Health.
