The main beach of Puerto de la Cruz, one of the most important tourist centers on the island of Tenerife, will be closed to the public for three months this Thursday due to the high presence of fecal bacteria in its waters.
This is a situation that neighbors and businessmen in the area have come out this Thursday to denounce the “irresponsibility” and “lack of transparency” of public administrations.
This was indicated by the Punta Brava Stop Spills into the Sea platform in a press conference held in the vicinity of this coastal area to demand solutions to what they consider “one of the largest environmental disasters in the history of the Canary Islands.”
“How many times has it happened on the islands that a bathing area with the size and importance of Playa Jardín has remained closed for more than three months due to the massive presence of contaminating bacteria that can cause illnesses? None,” said Cande Padilla, vice president of the organization.
That is why they demand that responsibilities be resolved in the face of a problem “that comes from a long time ago”, that affects the “health, economy and well-being” of the neighbors, and for which “a diagnosis has not even been found” .
From the platform they have explained that they have had access to many of the documents and analyzes carried out by different organizations and companies that show deficiencies in the water purification service in the area for more than 15 years and that they have come to present pollution levels 48 times higher than permitted.
Among the possible causes are the saturation of the regional treatment plant or the breakage of an underwater outfall that discharges sewage into the sea, a phenomenon that is repeated along the entire coast of Tenerife. However, the latter option was ruled out by the Government of the Canary Islandsthe Tenerife Cabildo and Puerto de la Cruz City Council this Wednesday. In a press conference offered by these administrations, a possible alternative cause was not offered but it was stated that the origin would in any case be in the homes of Punta Brava, thus pointing out the neighbors.
These, this Thursday, have criticized that several administrations have tried to point them out as the culprits when in reality they are “the victims,” indicated the president of the platform, Tania Hernández.
“The facts confirmed by official documents that this platform has studied are clear and conclusive. Furthermore, they corroborate that the errors committed by the different competent administrations have seriously endangered the health of thousands of people, not only the residents of the Playa Jardín area, but also the visitors who have come to this bathing area,” he said. Hernandez noted.
Among the direct consequences that this situation has had on the local population are episodes of vomiting and diarrhea, as well as skin conditions, but also layoffs in businesses in the area, among which the case of a company that has had He had to fire seven of his employees.
For all this, from the platform they have asked that the sanitation network be improved, that responsibilities be resolved in the different institutions and public authorities, and that residents be stopped as being responsible for a problem that has been affecting for more than a decade. to the area.
