Three September samples were rated only satisfactory—not red or poor. All 127 samples in the testing round complied with the regulation, and Ponta žali is blue again after a more recent measurement.
The three results were yellow—not red
In the ninth regular monitoring round in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Drače on Pelješac, Veliki Zaton – Glavna plaža and Ponta žali near Mokošica received a yellow rating for an individual sample. The official Croatian term is zadovoljavajuća: the satisfactory category that still complies with the rules. These samples were not red or poor.
As of the review date of 26 September, the county had issued neither a short-term pollution warning nor a bathing ban at any of the three sites because of these results. Turning a yellow map marker into a red alert confuses two clearly separate rating levels.
All 127 samples complied with the regulation
Between 7 and 17 September 2026, the public health institute tested a total of 127 beaches. According to the official notice, every sample met the requirements of Croatia's bathing-water regulation. Of these, 121 were rated excellent, three good and three satisfactory.
The three yellow results were therefore the weakest category that still complied in this testing round. They warrant a close look at the sampling date and trend, but they establish neither an acute closure nor widespread pollution throughout the entire bay or settlement.
What yellow means for an individual sample
For an individual sample, the regulation assesses intestinal enterococci and Escherichia coli. For enterococci, fewer than 60 colony-forming units per 100 millilitres is excellent, 61 to 100 good and 101 to 200 satisfactory. For E. coli, the three categories are below 100, 101 to 200 and 201 to 300.
Only above the satisfactory threshold does the regulation treat the event as short-term pollution and require additional sampling and a public warning. The publicly available detail pages do not give specific bacterial counts for the three yellow samples, so it is not possible to say which of the two indicators determined the colour.
Drače: one yellow result after eight blue samples
At the Drače monitoring site, the sample taken at 10:55 on 10 September was rated satisfactory. The eight previously published samples from the 2026 season—from May through the end of August—were all excellent.
That points to one weaker sampling time but does not prove a cause. Neither the county nor the official map attributes the result to a particular wastewater discharge, weather effect or other source.
Veliki Zaton: from excellent through good to yellow
At Veliki Zaton – Glavna plaža, the yellow individual rating comes from the sample taken at 12:30 on 8 September. The 28 August sample was good, while the seven earlier samples that season were excellent.
Here too, yellow is a snapshot at a defined monitoring point. It must not be extended to all beaches in Zaton or treated as a permanent description of conditions in the bay.
Ponta žali is blue again after a new sample
Ponta žali had satisfactory individual ratings on 1 and 8 September. The newer sample taken at 12:25 on 22 September is again recorded as excellent—and therefore blue—on the official map.
That is the latest published individual result, but not a formal all-clear: no official warning had been issued because of the yellow results. Over the season, Ponta žali also recorded a good sample in May, a satisfactory one in June and several excellent results.
Read individual results, seasonal grades and warnings separately
An individual sample shows how water quality was rated at that monitoring point when it was taken. Annual and four-year classifications rely on longer data series. A yellow individual result therefore does not automatically change the long-term classification, just as a good long-term grade does not override a current warning.
Before bathing, check the monitoring site, date and colour of the newest individual sample. Do not enter the water if there is a red marker, an explicit authority warning, a closure sign, visible contamination or an unusual smell. On 26 September, the yellow September sample remained the newest published individual result for Drače and Veliki Zaton; for Ponta žali it was the blue sample of 22 September.
Faktatilanne
Lähteet ja päiväys
Lähteet tukevat faktoja. Suunnitteluohjeet ja suositukset ovat Golden Beachin toimituksellisia arvioita.
- Results of the ninth sea-water quality survey in Dubrovnik-Neretva County in 2026Dubrovnik-Neretva County · 22 September 2026; checked 26 September 2026Testing period, 127 beaches, compliance with the regulation and distribution across the four rating levels
- Sea-water quality – Drače, monitoring site 1145Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries / Croatian bathing-water map · 2026 season; checked 26 September 2026Sample of 10 September and the previous seasonal samples in Drače
- Sea-water quality – Veliki Zaton, Glavna plaža, monitoring site 1158Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries / Croatian bathing-water map · 2026 season; checked 26 September 2026Sample of 8 September and earlier good and excellent results in Veliki Zaton
- Sea-water quality – Ponta žali, monitoring site 1169Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries / Croatian bathing-water map · 2026 season; checked 26 September 2026Satisfactory samples in early September and the excellent sample of 22 September
- Regulation on bathing-water qualityNarodne novine · NN 73/2008; checked 26 September 2026Thresholds and colours for individual ratings and the procedure for short-term pollution
