The PSOE in Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife) declared on Wednesday that it has successfully accessed the official data regarding the analyses conducted at Playa Jardín since July 2024 by public health authorities. In the view of the Socialists, these assessments suggest that residual discharges continue to cause episodes of contamination at the sampling locations within the bathing area of the port city.
The PSOE further indicates that this contamination is attributed to the break in the submarine emissary in the region.
The information presented by the PSOE now “contradicts the government representative, Pedro Antonio Campos (PP), and the Environmental Councillor, David Hernández (ACP), who stated on both the COPE radio and in the Notices Diary on March 5 and 6 that the results of the analyses had been favourable since December 17, and reported that on February 5 the values exceeded 100.”
The General Directorate of Public Health of the Government of the Canary Islands clarifies that “the Ministry of Health sets reference values to notify potential microbiological contamination of bathing waters at intestinal enterococci levels exceeding 100 UFC/100 ml and Escherichia coli (E. coli) levels greater than 250 UFC/100 ml. The exceeding of any of these values necessitates the implementation of necessary measures to either confirm or discount potential risk factors that could affect the exposed populace.”
Out of the eight days of analysis conducted thus far in 2025, three have surpassed the health limits at the three different sampling points. “Considering the 40 days of sampling since July 1, 2024, results from 18 days exceeded permitted levels, suggesting that nearly half of the samples in both 2024 and 2025 continue to reflect higher levels than those necessary for the bathing prohibition to be lifted,” stated the PSOE.
Political Accountability
According to the Socialists, “it has been established that the municipal government has deceived citizens concerning the progression of the pollution situation at Playa Jardín.” Therefore, socialist spokesman Marco González deems “the actions taken by the representatives of Mayor Leopoldo Afonso to mislead citizens for partisan gain to be very serious in democratic terms, particularly given that this situation pertains to public health. As such, we demand political accountability, for Puerto de la Cruz deserves a government that does not lie to its citizens.”
Furthermore, the General Directorate of Public Health explains that “the City Council, within its competences, shall disseminate public information actively, swiftly, and through easily accessible mechanisms regarding the quality of bathing waters and, where applicable, the beach conditions.” In this context, the PSOE will formally request that the City Council adhere to legal requirements and urgently publish every analysis conducted in Playa Jardín, as well as in all other bathing areas in the municipality. “With the publication of these findings, they will no longer have the chance to mislead Portuenses on such a crucial public health matter, and thus we insist on compliance with current regulations.”
Additionally, the Socialists also demand that the roadmap outlined by the municipal government be made public, as its contents have not been accessible until now. “They have claimed that we are at phase 0 of that plan, yet no one is aware of how many phases exist, what actions are scheduled, or what timeline is being followed for their execution,” explains socialist spokesman Marco González.
Alongside the actions committed by the City Council which were previously included in a roadmap communicated with the Canary Agency for Protection of the Natural Environment in April 2024 during the time the Socialists were in Government, González reiterates that the breakage of the emissary remains the primary source of wastewater discharges, according to official reports dated July 2024 commissioned by the City Council and the February 2025 reports regarding the repair. “What is more concerning is that after the Cabildo dismissed the need for an emergency response, the replacement of the broken segment of the emissary, which has been ready for execution since May 2023, has yet to be tendered. This also applies to the expansion and enhancement of the treatment facility, which inexplicably has remained untendered since September 2024; both of these actions are crucial to preventing discharges at Playa Jardín.”
