Belgium · lake bathing waters
Lake swimming in Belgium: 2025 water quality
Belgium reported 77 lake bathing waters for the 2025 season. 79.2% were classified Excellent — 11.3 points above the 67.9% for all 131 bathing waters in the country — and 1 was Poor. 37 sites have been Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025. Among the 19 countries with at least 30 lake bathing waters, Belgium ranks 14 by Excellent share.
77
lake bathing waters
79.2%
Excellent in 2025
1
Poor in 2025
Annual, not live: the 2025 class summarises several seasons of sampling. It does not show today’s pollution, algae or bans.
Find the nearest Excellent lake to you →
Map of lake bathing waters
Excellent 61Good 13Poor 1Not classified 2
How lake bathing waters in Belgium rated since 2015
Counts for the sites in today’s 2025 inventory; the Excellent share is calculated over classified sites only.
| Season | Classified | Excellent | Excellent share | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 75 | 61 | 81.3% | 1 |
| 2024 | 73 | 60 | 82.2% | 0 |
| 2023 | 75 | 59 | 78.7% | 0 |
| 2022 | 72 | 60 | 83.3% | 0 |
| 2021 | 64 | 55 | 85.9% | 0 |
| 2020 | 62 | 49 | 79% | 0 |
| 2019 | 60 | 50 | 83.3% | 0 |
| 2018 | 60 | 51 | 85% | 0 |
| 2017 | 59 | 51 | 86.4% | 0 |
| 2016 | 59 | 53 | 89.8% | 0 |
| 2015 | 59 | 53 | 89.8% | 0 |
Most consistent Excellent lakes
37 sites were Excellent in all eleven seasons. Ordered by the length of the unbroken Excellent run ending in 2025; the first 60 are shown.
- BERINGEN PAALSE PLAS 11 seasons
- BERLARE NIEUWDONK 11 seasons
- BRUGGE SINT PIETERSPLAS 11 seasons
- GENT BLAARMEERSEN PEUTERSPEELKREEK 11 seasons
- GENT BLAARMEERSEN STRAND-BADZONE 11 seasons
- GENT BLAARMEERSEN ZWEMSPORTZONE 11 seasons
- GERAARDSBERGEN DE GAVERS 11 seasons
- HOOGSTRATEN DE MOSTEN 11 seasons
- HOUTHALEN-HELCHTEREN DE PLAS 11 seasons
- JABBEKE KLEIN STRAND 11 seasons
- KASTERLEE DE HOGE RIELEN 11 seasons
- KASTERLEE KORTE HEIDE 11 seasons
- KINROOI DE STEENBERG (MAAS) 11 seasons
- LA VALLÉE DU RABAIS 11 seasons
- LANAKEN SONNEVIJVERS (GROTE VIJVER) 11 seasons
- LANAKEN SONNEVIJVERS (KLEINE VIJVER) 11 seasons
- LE CENTRE DE WORRIKEN 11 seasons
- LE CENTRE SPORTIF DE SAINT-LÉGER 11 seasons
- LE LAC DE BAMBOIS 11 seasons
- LE LAC DE CHÉRAPONT 11 seasons
- LE LAC DE LA PLATE TAILLE 11 seasons
- LE LAC DE ROBERTVILLE 11 seasons
- LES ETANGS DE RECHT 11 seasons
- LILLE LILSE BERGEN (GROOT) 11 seasons
- LILLE LILSE BERGEN (KLEIN) 11 seasons
- LONDERZEEL DIEPVENNEN 11 seasons
- MAASEIK WOUTERBRON 11 seasons
- MOL FAMILIESTRAND POSTEL 11 seasons
- MOL NUCLEA 11 seasons
- MOL ZILVERMEER 11 seasons
- RETIE BERKENSTRAND 11 seasons
- RIJKEVORSEL DE MEIRHEIDE (BREEBOS) 11 seasons
- SINT-NIKLAAS DE STER 11 seasons
- SINT-NIKLAAS DE STER 50m-BAD 11 seasons
- TURNHOUT BAALSE HEI 11 seasons
- WESTERLO CAMPING 'T HEULTJE 11 seasons
- ZONHOVEN HEIDESTRAND 11 seasons
- MOL RESORT DE KEMPEN 10 seasons
- DEINZE VOSSELARE PUT 8 seasons
- LOMMEL BLAUWE MEER 8 seasons
- WILLEBROEK HAZEWINKEL 6 seasons
- De STER ZWEMDOK - SINT NIKLAAS 5 seasons
- KINROOI GEERENSHEIDE 5 seasons
- RAVELS TULDERHEYDE 5 seasons
- BEERNEM GEVAERTS ZUID 4 seasons
- DILSEN-STOKKEM TERHILLS RESORT 4 seasons
- IEPER DIKKEBUSVIJVER 4 seasons
- LE GRAND LARGE À NIMY 4 seasons
- LE LAC DE CLAIRE-FONTAINE 4 seasons
- LIER ANDERSTAD 4 seasons
- LOMMEL BAREFOOT BEACH 4 seasons
- VEURNE VAUBANBAD 3 seasons
- WESTERLO HOF VAN EDEN 3 seasons
- ZWEVEGEM ZWAAIKOM 3 seasons
- ANTWERPEN GALGENWEEL 2 seasons
- LE LAC DU RY JAUNE 2 seasons
- MOLENZIJDSE HEIDE - MERKSPLAS 2 seasons
- GENT BLAARMEERSEN LANGEAFSTANDSZWEMMEN 1 season
- KANAAL KORTRIJK BOSSUIT 1 season
- LE CENTRE SPORTIF DE LIBRAMONT 1 season
Lakes rated Poor in 2025
- DESSEL - CAMPINASTRAND Poor in 1 of 11 classified seasons
Changes from 2024 to 2025
Improved (2)
- LE LAC DE NEUFCHATEAU Sufficient → Good
- MAASMECHELEN KIKMOLEN Good → Excellent
Declined (3)
- DESSEL - CAMPINASTRAND Sufficient → Poor
- MECHELEN DE NEKKER (GROTE VIJVER) Excellent → Good
- ZEMST DOMEIN HOFSTADE (BLOSO) Excellent → Good
Lake bathing waters by province
| Province | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antwerp | 22 | 86.4% | 1 |
| Limburg (Belgium) | 15 | 80% | 0 |
| West Flanders | 10 | 70% | 0 |
Provinces with at least three lake bathing waters; counts include only this water type.
Near which major cities?
Sites within 60 km (straight line) of a major city covered by our city guides:
- Brussels 29 lake bathing waters within 60 km
- Luxembourg 3 lake bathing waters within 60 km
Lakes compared across Europe
| # | Country | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austria | 254 | 96.9% | 1 |
| 2 | Finland | 211 | 95.7% | 0 |
| 3 | Denmark | 123 | 94.3% | 0 |
| 4 | Germany | 1,893 | 91.8% | 3 |
| 5 | Lithuania | 80 | 91.3% | 0 |
| 6 | Czechia | 62 | 90.3% | 0 |
| 7 | Portugal | 49 | 89.8% | 1 |
| 8 | Italy | 673 | 88.4% | 5 |
| 9 | France | 845 | 86.7% | 15 |
| 10 | Switzerland | 135 | 86.7% | 4 |
| 11 | Sweden | 210 | 82.4% | 6 |
| 12 | Estonia | 30 | 80% | 0 |
| 13 | Spain | 109 | 79.8% | 4 |
| 14 | Belgium | 77 | 79.2% | 1 |
| 15 | Netherlands | 587 | 70.5% | 26 |
| 16 | Slovakia | 40 | 70% | 0 |
| 17 | Hungary | 247 | 69.6% | 3 |
| 18 | Croatia | 34 | 67.6% | 0 |
| 19 | Poland | 489 | 60.1% | 5 |
Countries with at least 30 lake bathing waters. Networks differ in size and in how sites are designated, so this is a descriptive comparison, not a safety ranking.
Quick answers
- How many lake bathing waters in Belgium are rated Excellent?
- 61 of 77 (79.2%) in the 2025 EEA classification.
- Which lakes in Belgium have the best long-term record?
- 37 sites were Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025, for example BERINGEN PAALSE PLAS, BERLARE NIEUWDONK, BRUGGE SINT PIETERSPLAS. See the full list.
- Can I check current conditions?
- The annual class is not a live status. Current results and bans are published on Kwaliteit Zwemwater map (Flanders). Each site page on BathingWaterFinder also shows a weather forecast, including heavy-rain warnings.
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