Quarteira, Vale do Lobo, Olhos de Água and Carvoeiro beaches were affected
Swimming bans were imposed at four Algarve beaches in just one week after seawater quality tests found traces of the E-coli bacteria.
The beaches of Quarteira and Vale do Lobo were the first to raise a red flag on July 25, followed by Olhos de Água on July 27 and Carvoeiro on August 1.
In each case, the swimming bans were lifted the following day after water quality tests came back clean.
But despite the swimming bans, several beachgoers still decided to cool off in the sea.
“You can perfectly tell that the water is a bit greasy,” one beachgoer told RTP, adding that he decided to go swimming despite the warnings because “it was very hot.”
“Going to the beach and not going swimming is hard,” the beachgoer said.
RTP adds that the origin of the bacteria found is uncertain, although E-coli is a bacteria found in human intestines, meaning it may have come from sewage released into the sea.
Portugal’s Environmental Agency (APA) has told RTP that these four incidents are not related.
