A water sample taken on Monday shows that the limit has been exceeded at Playa de las Canteras. The beach is in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on Gran Canaria. Bacteria indicating sewage contamination were detected there. The sample was recorded in the NÁYADE bathing water register maintained by the Spanish health authorities.
Specifically, the level of intestinal enterococci was too high at 190 colonies per 100 millilitres. The limit is 185. This bacterium is one of the two faecal indicators used by the European Bathing Water Directive Wastewater to assess seawater. The bacterium was detected at the monitoring point directly at Playa Canteras.
The Escherichia coli count, at 170 colonies, remained below the limit of 500. Both bacterial strains are found in human and animal faeces. The Canary Islands regularly experience problems with excessively high levels of sewage in bathing waters.
Wastewater levels on the Gran Canaria coast exceed the limit
The register records, for each sample, the date of collection, the two bacterial readings and the authority’s final assessment. The sample taken on 9 November has only just been made public. The town hall of the relevant local authority has not yet responded officially. A beach closure has therefore not been ordered at present, but caution is nevertheless advised.
Beach closures in the Canary Islands almost always come with a slight delay, as the samples must first be analysed and the results then forwarded to the local councils. Any subsequent closures are then the responsibility of the local authorities.
Our records show 346 samples for the affected bathing area since 24 January 2023. This is the second time the limit has been exceeded in this series. The area was closed on three occasions during this period.
Gran Canaria: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has eight sewage discharge points near Playa de las Canteras
The Canary Islands‘ sewage discharge register lists eight discharge points within a one-kilometre radius off the coast of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The nearest is 475 metres from the sampling point and discharges domestic sewage. Although there is no proven link between the discharges and the sample taken on 9 November, such a link is considered likely.
Following such a finding, sampling along the affected stretch of coastline is normally stepped up. As soon as the levels fall below the limit values again, a closed bathing area is reopened. The next step is for the local authority to decide whether the finding will result in a bathing ban at all, given the minor exceedance.
You can now find the latest figures, details of nearby sewage discharges and trends in these figures for all beaches in the Canary Islands, updated hourly, in our regularly updated Water Quality Overview. Click here for water quality information for Playa de las Canteras.
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