Three beaches on Tenerife have been closed since Wednesday: Playa de El Médano in Granadilla de Abona, Playa del Socorro in Los Realejos and Playa Jardín in Puerto de la Cruz. Excessively high bacterial levels are cited as the reason for the closures of all three. These are directly attributed to sewage in the vicinity of the beaches.
In the case of El Médano , the town hall itself announced the closure . According to the announcement, the enterococci count was 210 colonies per 100 millilitres, whilst the threshold is 200. Consequently, the red flag with a black dot was hoisted, indicating that swimming is prohibited when the sea is rough.
On the very same day, the town hall took further samples. This will be repeated until the water is once again suitable for swimming. This also applies to all other beaches currently affected in the Canary Islands:
Tenerife closes several beaches due to sewage
There is currently a ban on swimming at Playa El Socorro. Although the official test results have not yet been released, the town hall has nevertheless reacted by closing the beach. The most recent sample was taken on Wednesday morning and showed an excessively high bacterial count.
According to beachgoers, the beach was cleared by the local police and access to the water was blocked off. There was no statement from the town hall. Unofficially, it was reported that reopening was expected from Friday.
The situation at Playa Jardín is different: the sewage outfall near the beach has been damaged for years. Instead of discharging just under a kilometre away, some of the sewage from the Orotava Valley now discharges around 95 metres from the beach. This repeatedly results in high bacterial levels and short-term closures. The previous water sample, taken on 16 September, showed normal results, with nine colonies of Escherichia coli and two colonies of enterococci per 100 millilitres.
Recurring sewage-related beach closures on Tenerife
In El Médano and El Socorro, too, the previous samples showed no cause for concern. For El Médano, 29 colonies of Escherichia coli and seven colonies of enterococci were reported; at Playa Socorro, the figures were nine and two respectively. All readings were therefore well below the limit values, which highlights the importance of ocean currents for water quality near the beach.
The samples are taken and analysed. They are then entered into the register and reported to the local councils. The councils subsequently impose a bathing ban, subject to a certain delay. Teneriffa News has therefore set up a register which displays the most recent sample for each beach in the Canary Islands, along with a calculation based on historical data and current sea currents. Both figures are deliberately shown side by side so that bathers can decide for themselves whether or not they wish to go for a swim.
Our records show 78 samples for El Médano since January 2023, 35 samples for El Socorro since May of the same year, and 303 samples for Playa Jardín over the same period. Neither El Médano nor El Socorro have been closed so far in this series due to problems with water quality, whereas Playa Jardín has already been closed 14 times.
Playa Jardín has brought this issue to the attention of the wider Canary Islands and the international community: from 1 July 2024 to 16 June 2025, swimming there was prohibited throughout this period. You can read our summary following the closure here. The beach remained open into this year, but since the summer there have been repeated short-term closures. Puerto de la Cruz Town Hall has since stated that it is in dispute with the Canary Islands authorities over the quality of the water samples and is now losing patience.
Tenerife: Five sewage discharge points near the three beaches
The Canary Islands‘ sewage discharge register lists three discharge points within one kilometre off the coast of Puerto de la Cruz. The nearest is 229 metres from the water sampling point at Playa Jardín. Added to this is the burst pipe in the immediate vicinity of the beach. The effluent discharged consists mainly of domestic sewage. The condition of the sewerage network is considered poor, and not just because of the burst pipe:
Near Granadilla de Abona, two discharge points have been recorded close to the beach, the nearest of which is 476 metres from the sampling point at Playa de El Médano. For El Socorro in Los Realejos, the register does not list any points within a kilometre, although the beach is not far from Playa Jardín and its discharge points.
Lanzarote is also reporting sewage problems
There have also been recent anomalies on Lanzarote: at Playa de Pila de la Barrilla in Tías, a sample taken on 21 September contained 190 colonies of enterococci, exceeding the limit of 185.
You can now find the latest water quality readings, nearby sewage discharges and the trend in test results for all beaches in the Canary Islands, updated hourly, in our regularly updated Water Quality Overview. The following links will take you directly to the water quality at Playa de El Médano, as well as to the water quality at Playa del Socorro and the water quality at Playa Jardín.
«Wastewater problems force Tenerife to close three beaches»
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