The principal beach of Puerto de la Cruz, a key tourist hub on the island of Tenerife, will be inaccessible to the public for three months this Thursday due to the elevated levels of faecal bacteria in its waters.
This situation has prompted local residents and business owners to denounce the “irresponsibility” and “lack of transparency” from public administrations.
The Punta Brava Stop Spills into the Sea platform highlighted this issue during a press conference held near the coastal area, calling for solutions to what they deem “one of the largest environmental catastrophes in the history of the Canary Islands.”
“How many times has it occurred in the islands that a bathing area of the size and significance of Playa Jardín has remained closed for over three months due to a massive presence of contaminating bacteria that can induce illnesses? None,” stated Cande Padilla, the vice president of the organisation.
This is why they are demanding accountability concerning a problem “that has persisted for a long time,” affecting the “health, economy, and well-being” of residents, and for which “no diagnosis has even been established”.
The platform has explained that they have accessed numerous documents and analyses conducted by various organisations and companies that reveal deficiencies in the water purification service in the region for more than 15 years, with pollution levels reported to be 48 times above the permitted limits.
Among the potential causes is the failure of an underwater outfall that discharges sewage into the sea—an assertion that has been dismissed by the Government of the Canary Islands, the Cabildo de Tenerife, and the City Council of Puerto de la Cruz; a situation that is mirrored along the coast of Tenerife, or the overloading of the regional treatment plant.
However, local residents criticise that several administrations have attempted to blame them as the culprits when, in fact, they are “the victims,” remarked the platform’s president, Tania Hernández.
“The evidence supported by official documents reviewed by this platform is clear and decisive. Moreover, they confirm that the mistakes made by various competent administrations have seriously jeopardised the health of thousands of individuals, not just those living in the Playa Jardín region, but also the visitors who frequent this bathing area,” Hernandez remarked.
Among the immediate repercussions this situation has inflicted upon the local community are instances of vomiting and diarrhoea, as well as skin disorders, along with job cuts in local businesses, including an instance where one company was forced to lay off seven employees.
In light of all this, the platform has called for improvements to the sanitation network, that accountability be established among the various institutions and public authorities, and that residents no longer be labelled as responsible for a problem that has been harming the area for over a decade.