In short
Lake Geneva’s bathing water is monitored by the authorities: in Geneva, the canton publishes dated test results beach by beach; around the lake, CIPEL publishes a beach map and ratings. A test only holds for the moment it was taken, so check its date before swimming. My Lake only shows water quality when the test is less than 30 days old, and otherwise links to the source.
Who checks the water quality at Lake Geneva’s beaches?
In Geneva, the canton tests the water at beaches and swimming spots and publishes the results; they are also released as open data by the Geneva land information system (SITG). For the whole lake, the International Commission for the Protection of Lake Geneva (CIPEL) publishes a map of beaches with their ratings.
How do you read a beach’s rating?
Geneva beaches are rated in categories, from “excellent to good” water to “poor” water, via “good to fair” and “may be temporarily polluted”. When a beach is rated “may be temporarily polluted”, avoid swimming especially after a thunderstorm, when run-off reaches the lake. “Poor” water means swimming is not advised.
Why does the date of the test matter so much?
Because the water changes: rain, storms, wind and temperature alter things from one week to the next. A summer sample says nothing about the water in autumn. That is why the app only shows water quality when the test is less than 30 days old; the annual rating says nothing about today’s water, so it is not shown as such.
Where can you check the water quality before swimming?
- Geneva beaches: the canton’s bathing water quality page.
- Elsewhere on the lake: CIPEL’s beach map.
- In the app, a link at the bottom of the page points to the right source for the chosen beach.
The beach list gives the water temperature and wind for each one; for winter, see also the winter swimming guide.
Lake Geneva’s water right now
Each beach’s water temperature is in the My Lake app, updated every three hours.