Lifeguards at the seaside sell coffee and tickets at the beginning of the season

“Beach lifeguards are engaged in unusual activities such as attending to cafes on the beach, selling tickets for jets, lounges and sunshades,” Teodora Tomova, Director of the Water Safety Lifeguard Service with the Bulgarian Red Cross, said yesterday. She explained that about three minutes are enough for a man to drown a man. At that time, the lifeguard may be with his back to the water, doing something that is not his duty. “Lifeguards’ job is a subject of judicial responsibility, but no legal proceedings against a lifeguard have been initiated so far,” added Tomova. According to her, there is no data about the number of beach lifeguards employed. She explained, that every year the Bulgarian Red Cross issues 1,000 permits for this activity, but nearly the same number of lifeguards have left the country in recent years.

The Regional Health Inspectorate has begun large-scale inspections of the water in swimming pools and the beaches in the country, announced the Ministry of Health. The Ministry’s statement specified that the reason for that was that the summer season had started on June 1.

There are 93 bathing zones in Bulgaria, 83 of them – at the seaside. All of them are controlled by the Regional Health Inspectorates and the results have so far shown that they meet the obligatory requirements for the safety and quality of water. Only 14 zones do not meet the more stringent criteria for bathing recommended by the Ministry of Health. Most of these are located in the region of Varna. According to the Ministry’s statement, the main reasons worsening the quality of bathing waters along the Black Sea coast are the insufficient number and capacity of treatment plants for waste water.

Swimming-pools will also be subject to control. According to the Regional Health Inspectorates, 1,281 open-air and 488 closed swimming pools have been registered in our country. Their microbiological and physicochemical indicators will be analysed. The effectiveness of disinfection of the swimming pools’ water and sanitary facilities - lockers, bathrooms, toilets etc. – will be inspected as well. The law stipulates fines of BGN 200 to BGN 3,000 for an initial offense and BGN 500 to BGN 5,000 for a repeated violation.

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