Local News
French-side beaches: 10 of 12 sites rated excellent for water quality in 2025 season
The ARS health agency rated 10 of 12 French-side bathing sites excellent for the 2025 season, with Grand-Case good and Îlet Pinel unrated for lack of samples. There is no official Dutch-side equivalent.
By SXM Daily ·
Ten of the 12 French-side bathing sites monitored by the regional health agency were rated excellent for water quality in the 2025 season, according to the agency's latest results. Grand-Case was rated good, and Îlet Pinel had too few samples to be rated.
Photo: Richie Diesterheft / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
The figures come from the Agence régionale de santé (ARS) of Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy. Its 2026 edition, published on 13 July 2026, covers the 2025 season. ARS took 159 samples in Saint-Martin and found 91.7% of them compliant. Faxinfo reported on 6 October that the agency had gone over the figures again at a press briefing.
The ratings, site by site
Excellent:
- Baie Longue
- Baie aux Prunes
- Baie Rouge
- Friar's Bay
- Petite Plage
- Anse Marcel
- Baie Orientale, north point
- Baie Orientale, south point
- Baie de l'Embouchure, north
- Baie de l'Embouchure, south
Good: Grand-Case.
Not rated (not enough samples): Îlet Pinel.
A monitoring season runs from 1 October to 30 September, and each rating looks at results over the last four years. The Collectivité de Saint-Martin is required to post the results at each bathing site.
What about the Dutch side?
There is no official equivalent. ARS only monitors French-side beaches, and SXM Daily found no official, current water-quality classification for Sint Maarten's beaches to compare.
What it means for swimmers
Most French-side beaches scored at the top of the scale, but ARS still gives standing advice:
- Avoid swimming during rain and for a few hours afterwards.
- Check water quality before you swim, and respect any bathing ban.
- Sargassum still washes up, mostly from March to September. Swimming is not recommended where it has piled up.
- Never leave a child unsupervised in or near the water, and watch out for sea urchins.
What happens next
The current season ends on 30 September each year, so the next set of results, for the 2026 season, would be expected in the 2027 edition. You can see the full map on the ARS website.
Sources
- https://www.guadeloupe.ars.sante.fr/media/163647/download?inline=
- https://www.guadeloupe.ars.sante.fr/qualite-des-eaux-de-baignade-1
- https://www.faxinfo.fr/sante-de-la-qualite-des-eaux-au-budget-de-lhopital-lars-fait-le-point/
Source: https://www.guadeloupe.ars.sante.fr/media/163647/download?inline=