An investigation has been initiated by the Department of Ecological Transition and Energy to check the compliance with the sole land-sea discharge permit currently valid in the town, which pertains to the outfall situated in the Punta Brava region.
The main objective of this measure is to shed light on the causes that led to the closure of the bathing area at Playa Jardín from July 3 onwards, following the detection of an excessive concentration of pathogens.
Ángel Montañés, the Director General of Ecological Transition and the Battle against Climate Change, announced that “we have commenced the process of verifying the terms of the authorization for the underwater outfall that discharges treated water from the La Orotava Valley treatment plant, managed by the Tenerife Island Water Council”.
In this context, Montañés specified that “we are confirming the compliance with the current regulations, reviewing the most recent inspection report provided by the Island Water Council, and will start the inspection stages in the upcoming days”, emphasizing that, “in case of uncovering any negligent behaviour, the Canary Islands Agency for the Protection of the Natural Environment (ACPMN) will be informed for potential enforcement actions to be taken.” As a reminder, “similar actions were taken back in 2023, where fines were imposed on the City Council of El Puerto de La Cruz for the discharges at Playa Chica and El Caletón” (near Playa Jardín).
Montañés mentioned that, at this particular discharge spot, as per the latest report from the General Directorate of Public Health, which overlooks the monitoring of bathing water quality in the archipelago, “routine bi-monthly tests conducted at the five established sampling locations mentioned in the authorization did not reveal any pathogen surpassing the permissible levels.” Hence, “it is unlikely that this is the contamination source, despite the pipeline break.”
Nevertheless, the Director General highlighted that “we are utilising all available resources to the public to investigate this incident thoroughly, offering utmost cooperation to the local council, which is tasked with maintaining the quality of bathing waters and the sanitation network.”
Regarding the municipal authority, the Director General pointed out that “there are numerous unauthorized land-sea discharge points without a monitoring scheme in place in the town”, hinting that “these outlets could potentially be contributing to the issue.”
In addition, he clarified that “these wastewater discharge points, which fall under the city council’s direct jurisdiction, should only be operational during periods of heavy rainfall, and we lack information regarding their frequency or the level of contaminants they release into the El Puerto coast.”
