Blue Flags on the Costa Blanca

Organizations behind the Blue Flag

The Blue Flag is awarded in cooperation by 2 parties:

• The Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE): a non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable development through education about the environment;

• The Asociación de Educación Ambiental y del Consumidor (ADEAC): a non-profit organization dedicated to environmental education and information in Spain. It is the Spanish branch of the FEE and is responsible for the implementation of the Blue Flag, among other things.

The purpose of the Blue Flag

The goal of the Blue Flag program is to permanently engage governments, business owners and recreationists in caring for clean and safe water, beautiful nature and a healthy environment.

All Blue Flags on the Costa Blanca by location:

Blue Flag criteria

Beaches and marinas must meet a set of comprehensive criteria divided into 4 categories:

Information & education:

• Blue Flag beaches must have panels with information about the beach, coastal ecosystems and, where applicable, nearby protected natural areas, along with a code of conduct for these areas;

• The municipality must organize a minimum of five environmental education activities per year.

Water quality:

• Bathing water quality at the beach must be excellent at all sampling points during the previous bathing season, in accordance with the quality guideline. To establish this quality, a number of periodic water samples must be officially taken.In addition, it must comply with the directive according to urban wastewater treatment.

Environmental Management:

• The beach must comply with environmental legislation, especially the Coastal Law, and must be clean. It must also have adequate waste management, including the collection of containers, paper and glass;

• The beach must have public bathrooms. Urban beaches and/or at least one of the Blue Flag beaches in the municipality must have a beach adapted for people with disabilities.

Safety:

• Beaches should be easily and safely accessible. In addition, urban beaches should be accessible to people with disabilities;

• A first aid team must be present, as well as adequate human supervision and life-saving materials.

Beach flags with other colors

The Blue Flag is not the only color flag you may see along the coast. Below is a list of flags with other colors and their meanings:

• Green flag (Bandera verde): no problems, the sea is calm and it is safe to swim;
• Yellow flag (Bandera amarilla): waves and undertow, it is dangerous to swim (floating objects prohibited);
• Red flag (Bandera roja): many waves/wild sea and undertow, it is forbidden to enter the sea;
• Black flag (Bandera negra): extremely dangerous due to health hazards, the sea is closed;
• Orange flag (Bandera naranja): the lifeguard is absent or not in place;
• White flag (Bandera medusas): A warning of jellyfish in the sea.

Flag with the letter‘Q‘: this flag indicates that the beach is in excellent quality. The flag is awarded by Calidad Turística Española.

The Blue Flag season

Please note that the Blue Flag is only applied and in effect during the Blue Flag season (season dates vary by region).