Procedures for Establishing and Maintaining a Bathing Water Site and Managing Its Water Quality
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Republic of Latvia Cabinet Regulation No. 692 Adopted 28 November 2017 Procedures for Establishing and Maintaining a Bathing Water Site and Managing its Water Quality Issued pursuant to Section 38.1, Paragraph one of the Epidemiological Safety Law, and Section 5, Paragraph ten, Clauses 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 and Section 22, Paragraph five of the Water Management Law. I. General Provisions 1. This Regulation prescribes: 1.1. the procedures for establishing and maintaining a bathing water site; 1.2. the bathing water sites where during the bathing season water is monitoring is carried out from the State budget resources; 1.3. the safety and hygiene requirements for bathing water sites; 1.4. the requirements for informing the public and the procedures for placing informative signs or symbols for a bathing water site; 1.5. the requirements for bathing water monitoring; 1.6. the procedures for bathing water assessment and classification; 1.7. the requirements for bathing water profiles; 1.8. the measures for ensuring bathing water quality and protection of human health. 2. The requirements of the Regulation shall apply to the bathing water sites referred to in Annexes 1 and 2 to this Regulation, which have been recognised by the Health Inspectorate as attended by a large number of bathers on the basis of the information provided by local governments regarding attendance tendencies of the bathing water sites existing in the respective administrative territory, as well as the infrastructure of bathing water sites, the installations existing therein or the performed improvement measures for promotion of bathing. 3. Requirements of the Regulation shall not be applicable to swimming pools (including public swimming pools used for swimming, leisure activities and preventive treatment, as well as spa swimming pools in accordance with laws and regulations regarding hygiene requirements for public swimming pools), confined waters subject to treatment or used for medical purposes, as well as artificially created, confined waters separated from surface water and groundwater. 4. Each year local governments shall evaluate information regarding the bathing water sites existing in their territory, and submit a proposal to the Health Inspectorate by 31 December, if a bathing site needs to be included in the list referred to in Annex 1 or 2 to this Regulation or deleted therefrom. 5. A manager of a bathing water site – a legal or natural person on whose initiative the bathing water site has been established – shall be responsible for the establishment and maintenance Translation © 2019 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre) of the bathing water site, conformity thereof with the safety and hygiene requirements, as well as placing of informative signs and other information regarding the bathing water site in accordance with the requirements of this Regulation. 6. Within the meaning of this Regulation, bathing water management measures shall include the following: 6.1. the development of a plan for monitoring calendar; 6.2. the bathing water monitoring; 6.3. the assessment and classification of the bathing water quality; 6.4. the development and maintenance of a bathing water profile; 6.5. the identification of pollution and its impact assessment so that it would not cause harm to the health of bathers; 6.6. the provision of information to the public; 6.7. the measures to prevent the bathers from coming into contact with pollution; 6.8. the measures to reduce risk of pollution. 7. The implementation of this Regulation shall be controlled by the Health Inspectorate. II. Procedures for Establishing and Maintaining a Bathing Water Site, as well as the Safety and Hygiene Requirements at a Bathing Water Site 8. A bathing water site shall be established based on the use specified (permitted) in the spatial plan of the respective local government. Borders of the bathing water site shall be determined by the local government, in the administrative territory of which the respective bathing water site is located. 9. It is prohibited to arrange a bathing water site and it may not be located: 9.1. at a wastewater inflow site or in its immediate vicinity – a distance that is less than the distance necessary for complete mixing of the water. The requirement shall not apply to rain wastewater inflow sites if, based on the water profile of the respective bathing water site drawn up in accordance with this Regulation, the water quality of the bathing water site does not deteriorate due to rain wastewater, and the water of the bathing water site is classified at least as water of sufficient quality; 9.2. in the territory of an industrial undertaking or at a site where the water of port territory does not conform to the quality requirements, or at a site where operation of a port is hindered due to the bathing water site; 9.3. at a site, which has unfavourable hydrological conditions for a bathing site or an unstable bed; 9.4. at a site where vessels are intensively used. 10. Before the beginning of the bathing season the manager of the bathing water site shall: 10.1. establish footpaths in order to ensure access to the bathing water site; 10.2. ensure that the bathing water site has an access road which is necessary for emergency vehicles and vehicles that are used for the management, supervision and control of the bathing water site; 10.3. evaluate and, if possible, ensure environmental availability of the bathing water site and its facilities to persons with functional disorders, as well as access with baby carriages; 10.4. demarcate the bathing water with buoys, tapes or other floating materials; 10.5. establish a bathing area at the bathing water site for children up to 10 years of age, if possible. The bed of the area meant for children shall be selected or developed with a slight gradient and a maximum depth, which does not exceed 70 cm; Translation © 2019 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre) 2 10.6. ensure a convenient access to water, safe basal terrain for the water body and protection against dangerous geological processes (for example, landsliding, slipping of the shoreline); 10.7. taking into account the load of the bathing water site, evaluate the necessity to ensure the provision of a rescue service. 11. The manager of the bathing water site may establish functional sectors at the bathing water site (for example, sun-bathing zone, sports zone, childrenʼs area with a playground for children of preschool age, nudist zone). 12. During bathing season the manager of the bathing water site shall do the following at a bathing water site: 12.1. arrange WCs, providing for a sewage system with wastewater drainage into sewage network or local treatment plants, or place portable toilets; 12.2. arrange changing rooms; 12.3. place waste containers; 12.4. ensure loosening and sifting of surface layer of the sand of terrestrial part of the bathing water site where it is allowed; 12.5. ensure regular and timely collection and removal of waste. 13. The manager of the bathing water site shall ensure that such activities are not carried out at the bathing water site, which might pollute the bathing water site (for example, that animals are not present and are not walked or taken for a swim at the bathing water site). III. Requirements for Informing the Public and the Procedures for Placing Informative Signs or Symbols regarding a Bathing Water Site 14. After obtaining results of the bathing water quality the Health Inspectorate shall publish the results of inspection on the website of the Health Inspectorate as soon as possible, and also provide the following information to the mass media and the manager of the bathing water site regarding those bathing water sites and their water quality where the monitoring has been carried out by using resources allocated from the State budget: 14.1. each year before the beginning of the bathing season – list of bathing water sites; 14.2. the results of quality assessment and qualification of bathing water over the last three years, as well as the bathing water profile; 14.3. the results of the bathing water quality monitoring; 14.4. regarding the causes and sources of pollution of poor quality bathing water, and the measures taken to prevent causes of pollution and to limit contact of swimmers with pollution; 14.5. regarding bathing prohibition or advice against bathing at the relevant bathing water site by providing a justification and specifying reasons; 14.6. if the bathing water is subject to short-term pollution: 14.6.1. a warning whenever short-term pollution is predicted or present, and the information regarding the expected duration thereof; 14.6.2. a notification that short-term pollution has been detected in the bathing water; 14.6.3. information regarding circumstances which might have caused the short-term pollution; 14.6.4. regarding the causes of short-term pollution, and the measures taken to prevent causes of pollution and to limit bathersʼ exposure to pollution; Translation © 2019 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre) 3 14.6.5. the information regarding the number of days in the preceding bathing season when it was prohibited to bathe or it was advised not to bathe due to short-term pollution; 14.7. in case of emergency, if water pollution is caused by an emergency situation – release of chemical, radioactive or biological substances into the environment – information regarding the nature and expected duration of the emergency situation; 14.8. regarding deletion of the bathing water site from the list of bathing water sites and reasons for its deletion; 14.9. regarding the determination of permanent bathing prohibition or advice against bathing in the relevant bathing water site and the reasons for the aforementioned prohibition or advice.