The presence of faecal bacteria on the beach has prompted the town hall of Puerto de la Cruz to close the town’s most popular beach. It was said to have been done „as quickly as possible“. It has now become clear, however, that this was anything but „swift“. The popular beach is said to have remained open for just under two weeks after the problem came to light.
Playa Jardín is the most popular beach in the region at the foot of the Orotava Valley. It was closed on 3 July due to contamination from sewage. A water analysis had detected high levels of Escherichia coli bacteria, also known as faecal bacteria.
However, the decision to close the beach was not taken immediately, but only after a bureaucratic process. And that took 13 days. The consistory had, in fact, received the first reports of poor water quality as early as 21 June. A chronology of the incidents:
Tenerife beach remained open for a further two weeks despite the sewage problem
The city council announced that the results of the water analysis carried out by the health authority had been received at 2 pm on Friday 21 June. However, due to the weekend, confirmation of receipt was delayed until the following Tuesday.
It was only then that the report is said to have been discovered by the official responsible. However, clarification of the situation with the health authority was delayed once again, as the authority had failed to respond for two days.
On 28 June, the Puerto de la Cruz Town Council called for an emergency meeting. This took place on 2 July. The Director-General of Health, José Juan Alemán, was unable to attend beforehand.
And so it was not until 11.20 am on 3 July that the city council received the letter that led to the closure of Playa Jardín that same afternoon. The public were therefore not officially informed of the closure until 4 July.
Tenerife: Why the beach closure took so long
In addition to normal beach activities, there were various events taking place in the region during the crucial period. For example, the Noche de San Juan took place on 23 June. The Reggaeton Beach Festival on 29 and 30 June was also scheduled to take place near Playa Jardín in Puerto de la Cruz.
The port authority gave assurances that it had worked closely with the public health authorities. However, it has now announced that it will investigate why it took so long for the decision to close the beach to be made.
Puerto de la Cruz: Sewage pipe off Playa Jardín has long been faulty
A burst sewage pipe near the coast is considered the most likely cause of the poor water quality. The relevant local council is said to have been informed of this more than a year ago. Since April 2023, they have been waiting for a planning permission from the Canary Islands Government’s coastal authority to carry out repair works.
Meanwhile, a diver based in Puerto de la Cruz has published a video showing the discharge of sewage into the Meer zeigt:
According to this, the problem has apparently been ongoing for two years. The video shows that the drain is broken in only one place, about 700 metres from the coast. The rest of the pipe is therefore in good condition.
In the Canary Islands, there are recurring problems with untreated sewage. You can find an overview of the sewage incidents here on our website.
No comments on this article yet.