Lanzarote beach faces closure after sewage limit exceeded

A water sample taken on Monday shows that the limit has been exceeded at Playa de Pila de la Barrilla. The beach lies in Tías, in the south-east of the Canary Islands. 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 quality. The bacterium was detected at the monitoring point directly at Playa Pila de la Barrilla.

The Escherichia coli reading, at 29 colonies, remained below the limit of 500. Both strains of bacteria are found in human and animal faeces. The Canary Islands regularly experience problems with excessive levels of sewage in bathing waters.

Wastewater levels on the Lanzarote 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 21 September has only just been made public. The town hall of the relevant local authority has not yet responded officially. A closure has therefore not been ordered at present, but caution is nevertheless advised.

In the Canary Islands, beach closures are almost always implemented with a slight delay, as the samples must first be analysed and the results then forwarded to the local councils. Any subsequent beach closures are then the responsibility of the local authorities.

Our records show 60 samples for the bathing area in question since 23 January 2023. This was the first time in the entire series of measurements that the limit values had been exceeded. Consequently, the area has not yet been closed for these reasons during this period.

Lanzarote: Tías has five wastewater discharge points near Playa de Pila

The Canary Islands‘ sewage discharge register lists five discharge points within one kilometre off the coast of Tías. The nearest is 128 metres from the sampling point and discharges domestic sewage. Although there is no proven link between the discharges and the sample taken on 21 September, such a link is considered likely.

As a result of such measures, sampling along the affected stretch of coast is normally stepped up. Once the levels fall below the limit values again, the bathing area is reopened. The next step is for the local authority to decide whether the finding – given that the limit was only slightly exceeded – warrants a bathing ban at all.

You can now find the latest figures, details of nearby wastewater 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 Pila de la Barrilla.