The sea off Calpe is clean, the annual report confirms: here is what it actually says

Good news for anyone swimming in Calpe: the annual coastal report is in and the outcome is unreservedly positive. All four monitoring points off the coast score an optimal rating in the most recent annual cycle, and two of the four have never once exceeded a limit across the entire measuring series. What exactly is measured, though, is more specific than many headlines suggest, and that is worth knowing before you unroll your towel.

Four monitoring points, four green lights

The report comes from the Instituto de Ecología Litoral, which runs the coastal monitoring network for the municipality, and covers the cycle from July 2025 to June 2026. Readings are taken at four points: off La Fossa beach, off Cantal Roig, off Puerto Blanco and at Les Urques. La Fossa and Cantal Roig are rated optimal and have never exceeded a limit value across the entire historical series. Puerto Blanco and Les Urques sit at good over the longer run, but also scored optimal in this annual cycle.

Environment councillor Pere Moll calls it confirmation that Calpe’s beaches are in excellent condition, and mayor Ana Sala counts water quality among the municipality’s main assets. That is official language, but the figures underneath are concrete enough: good oxygenation, normal salinity and pH, few suspended particles and low turbidity.

How they measure it: satellite plus bucket

The monitoring programme has been running since September 2016, and that is precisely what makes it valuable: you can set one year against nearly a decade of history. Since last year the approach has widened, too. Alongside its own sampling, carried out quarterly, the institute now also uses hydrographic data from the Copernicus satellite, among other things to track chlorophyll levels. That last one is a gauge of algal growth and therefore of whether too many nutrients are ending up in the water.

The classics come along as well: temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, suspended solids and clarity. Together they sketch the ecological condition of the coastal water, and that turns out to be steadily good.

Important: this is not the bathing water check

Here is the nuance that gets lost in many reports. This report concerns the environmental quality of the coastal water, not the health check that determines whether swimming is safe. That second measurement is a separate, legally required control the Valencian government carries out during the bathing season, testing for bacteria such as E. coli and enterococci. Those results travel through the national Nayade system to the ministry and ultimately to the European Commission. In the 2025 season that meant 250 marine bathing zones across the region, with 278 sampling points and some 4,800 analyses.

Both studies point the same way for Calpe, but they are not measuring the same thing. An optimal ecological score means the coastal system is in good health; whether the water is clean enough to swim in on a particular day is what the health check tells you, along with the signs at the beach entrance. After heavy rain there can be a temporary deviation, and then a notice goes up. That remains the quickest answer.

Where to get in the water in Calpe

Calpe collected five Blue Flags this year. Cantal Roig, La Fossa and the Arenal-Bol kept theirs, and Puerto Blanco and the Racó were added. La Fossa takes the crown: that beach has flown the Blue Flag without interruption since 1987, putting it among the longest awarded beaches in the world.

In practice that mainly means choice. The Arenal-Bol sits right on the promenade, with terraces and facilities within reach, which makes it the obvious pick with children. La Fossa is longer and more spacious, with the Peñón as its backdrop. Cantal Roig, at the foot of the rock near the harbour, is smaller and more sheltered. And if you would rather climb than swim: we explained earlier how to book a slot on the Peñón de Ifach.

About the authorMilo Schuijt

Milo Schuijt is an entrepreneur and DJ on the Costa Blanca. He writes about the places where he lives, works and plays: from beach bars to the housing market.