The water in Lake Dojran has been rated excellent for swimming according to microbiological indicators. The analysis was carried out at three locations - the „City Beach”, the „Graniko” beach and the „Polin” beach - with samples taken in the second half of July, and the testing was done by the Public Health Centre in Veles.

The conclusion is plainly worded: according to the laboratory findings and in line with the Regulation on the management of bathing waters, the analysed sample is rated excellent. At all three measuring points the water can be used for swimming and recreation.

Now read the rest of the report

That same document contains parts you will not see in any headline. The Public Health Centre notes that because of visible algae proliferation, foam appearing on the shore and an increased amount of greenish biomass, an analysis of phyto- and zooplankton by the Hydrobiological Institute in Ohrid is needed for a full assessment of the water's safety and ecological status.

In other words: microbiologically - excellent. Ecologically - we still don't know, another institution has to check.

There is a third detail. The water from the „City Beach” measuring point is described as deviating from the required second-class values on certain physical and chemical parameters, which do not directly affect human health, but which exist.

Why this matters for Dojran, not only for swimmers

Lake Dojran has a history with its water level and the state of its ecosystem that is far longer than any seasonal analysis. Algae, foam and greenish biomass are not an aesthetic problem - they are a symptom. When the institution measuring the water asks for further testing itself, that is a signal that should not be translated into „the water is excellent” and left there.

The „excellent for swimming” rating is accurate and tourists can enter the lake without worry. But the press release carries only that part, while the call for another analysis - written into the very same report - stays in a footnote. The question is whether the Hydrobiological Institute will be called before the season ends, or only next summer when the measuring starts again.