Abona granadilla closes some of its main beaches again due to the presence of harmful wastewater for health. It does so in the same week that it had to close all the bathing areas, specifically between Tuesday and Thursday, but on this previous occasion as a result of the appearance of microalgae, a natural phenomenon related to the rise in sea temperatures.
In this case, the decision of the Granadilla de Abona City Council is due to the appearance of E. coli in the watera bacterium found in the intestines of people and animals, in the environment, and sometimes also in untreated food and water.
For this reason, the Government of Granada decreed this Friday the temporary closure of Playa Chica and the central and Leocadio Machado beaches, in El Médano, after detecting in the analyzes that the levels allowed for the E. coli bath are exceeded. In addition, the red flag was hoisted.
The City Council reports in a statement that only the central beach exceeds the levels allowed for bathing but as a precaution the security perimeter is extended from Playa Chica to Leocadio Machado. He adds that although the samples taken on Monday and Tuesday yielded results of “good water quality”, the last one carried out has exceeded the permitted parameters of the bacteria associated with the discharge of untreated sewage.
These provisional closures of bathing areas are relatively frequent in the southern municipality, which has a Serious problem with sewage sanitation generated by its coastal populations, which has caused numerous protests from the residents of the municipality. To try to minimize this contamination, which affects not only the use of the beaches but also the rich marine biodiversity of the coast of Granada, the state company Aguas de las Cuencas de España (Acuaes) is carrying out works on the coast. The works in El Médano by Acuaes, which reports to the Ministry for Ecological Transition, seek to improve the sanitation and purification of the Granadilla regional system, as well as the resolution of the problems of the directives on water protection.
In the statement, the City Council assures that Granadilla de Abona is “one of the few municipalities in Canary Islands which performs analyzes twice a week”, taking samples from a total of 10 beaches, compared to the samples taken by Public Health every 15 days in only six bathing areas, “which guarantees exhaustive knowledge of the water quality of the coast ». The beaches covered by this service are: Cueva del Trigo, Ensenada Pelada, La Jaquita, El Cabezo, Playa Chica, central beach of El Médano, Leocadio Machado, La Tejita, El Chinchorro and Playa Grande de Los Abrigos.
This same Friday, new samples were taken in Playa Chica and the central and Leocadio Machado beaches to carry out a counter-analysis by the municipal service, which were the ones that detected the presence of the bacteria related to sewage. The City Council ensures that it takes this measure to “guarantee the safety of bathers” and adds that as soon as the new analyzes that will be carried out in the next few hours confirm that the waters are suitable for bathing, it will proceed to reopen.
The Government of Granada also reports that has requested the Entemanser company, which runs the sanitation network, a study of the real state of the network in the area of the central beachapart from having requested an urgent meeting with the Insular Council of Aguas de Tenerife in order to know the state of the works of the Granadilla treatment plant, a system that will fully purify the wastewater of San Isidro and the entire coast of the municipality.
