Concerning The Great Importance Of The Safety Of Recreational Waters, A Cross-Sectional Study At Addis Ababa, Debre Zeit And Ambo Was Carried Out Over A Three Month Period Of Time From May-July, 2008. rnA Total Of 72 Water Samples From Two Natural Bathing Lakes And Six Outdoor Swimming Pools (18 And 54 Samples Respectively) Were Collected And Analyzed For Total (TC), Fecal Coliforms (FC), Fecal Streptococci (FS), Hetrotrophic Bacteria (HPC), S. Aureus , PH, Temperature, Free Chlorine And Turbidity The Results Of Swimming Pools And Natural Recreational Water Bodies Were Checked Respectively Against Well Established Standards Of WHO,(2006) And BSI,(1991). rnThe Analyses Demonstrated That, Out Of The 54 Samples Of Six Outdoor Swimming Pools, The Compliance Of The Bathing Water To The Microbiological Standards Of WHO Ranges From 52(96.3%) For S. Aureus, 44 (81.5%) For TC, 43(79.6%) For HPC, And 38(70.4%) For FC And Were Found Un Acceptable. The Amount Of Polluted TC/FC/FS/ S. Aureus Ambo Ethiopia Hotel Was The Highest Followed By Ghion Hotels With High TC/ S. Aureus Count, Air Force Officers Club Hotel Is The Least With Low Count In All Except High HPC rnAdditionally, The Free Chlorine Residue Level Tested, All Of The Samples From The Swimming Pool Were Less Than The Required Guide Line Value Of 1mg/L, That Is 7.8) 33.3% (Alkaline) Were Observed From AFOCHSP Where As In 33.3% Of The Samples Had PH Between 7.2-7.8.And The Remaining Samples Had PH Less Than 7.2. The Number Of Microbiologically Unacceptable Samples From Natural Bathing Lakes For FS Was 4 (22.2%). The Compliance Level For FS From Lake Babogaya And Hora Were 33.3% And 11.1% Respectively. The Compliance Of The Lake Water For TC And FC Was Not As Such High And Generally Good. rnX rnFrom These Results It Was Shown That All Of The Outdoor Swimming Pools Examined Were Contaminated And Most Of The Bacteriological And Physicochemical Parameters Measured Were Not In Harmony With The Reference Values Set Out By WHO. This Is Mainly Due To The Current Absence Of, Monitoring (Supervision), Proper Disinfection And/Or Lack Of Control Over Related Parameters To Efficient Disinfection Processes. rnThe Study Findings Suggest That The Observed Problems Will Be Minimized By Promoting Good Hygiene Education And Practices For Swimmers, Encouraging Proper Pre-Swim Showering, Applying A Better And Strict Supervision, Providing Training And Education For Operators, Monitoring The Biological And Chemical Conditions(Maintaining The Proper Conditions) Of The Pool At Regular Intervals. rnKeywords: Swimming Pools, Microbiological Indicators, Swimming Infection, Recreational Water Quality xi