By SHARON UDASIN
08/31/2011 02:58

The summer began with numerous beach closures due to sewage spilling incidents and storm damage.
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As summer vacation – and beach season along with it – draws to a close, the Environmental Protection Ministry has determined that most of Israel’s beaches made dramatic improvements in cleanliness and quality of service this season.

The summer began with numerous beach closures due to sewage spilling incidents and storm damage.

August ratings in the ministry’s second annual Blue-Green Flag campaign, which assigns each beach a grade of 0 to 3 flags, as well as an overall percentage, gave winning marks of 100 percent to Kiryat Haim Central in Haifa and West (Papaya) Beach in Eilat. Runners-up include HaTzuk in Tel Aviv with 99% and Acadia North and Central in Herzliya with 98%. The vast majority of beaches surveyed received the top marking of 3 flags.

This month’s worst offenders: the Separate Beach in Hadera at 59%, the recently opened Shefayim Beach in Hod HaSharon at 66% and Bograshov Beach in Tel Aviv at 67%. While Bograshov is currently undergoing some “encouraging changes,” it stayed with the low ranking it has maintained throughout the season because water is currently flowing onto the beach, the ministry said.

Calculated in collaboration with the Health and Interior ministries, the Environmental Protection Ministry’s rankings are updated every two weeks throughout the summer and are based on the International Blue Flag program, which was launched in Europe in 1987.

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