Every day, around 13,000 cubic metres of inadequately treated wastewater flows into the sea off Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife. Just under a year after the reopening of Playa Jardín, the structural problems with the sewage treatment facilities remain unresolved. Shortly before the first anniversary, the campaign group „Stop Vertidos al Mar“ brought the state of the facilities back into the spotlight of public debate.
The beach was reopened for swimming on 17 June 2025. The closure had been imposed due to high levels of faecal bacteria in the bathing water. According to the citizens‘ platform, most of the construction measures intended to guarantee a permanent solution are still pending or are facing significant delays. These include the tertiary treatment at the sewage treatment works, its expansion, the renewal of the underwater sewer at Punta Brava and the refurbishment of the sewer network in the neighbourhood.
The third treatment stage at the local sewage treatment works in the Orotava Valley had already been planned during its construction in the 1990s, but was not implemented until 2025. It is intended to pump treated water to the La Cruz Santa reservoir to irrigate crops in Los Realejos and the rest of the valley. The Island Council and the public water supplier Balten drove the project forward. The technical data only reveal how well the plant actually performs upon closer inspection:
Tenerife North: Only a third of wastewater undergoes tertiary treatment
The Island Council announced that the plant would be partially operational from May and fully operational from June. Technical documents from Balten, however, show multiple deadline extensions: the original completion date of 1 June 2025 was initially postponed to 1 October, then to 1 March 2026. The main reason cited is delays in the delivery of medium-voltage switchgear.
Pumping operations to the Cruz Santa station began on a trial basis on 2 June last year, with the first continuous pumping taking place on 10 June. To date, just under 100,000 cubic metres have officially been pumped into the reservoir.
According to figures from the ministry responsible for the primary sector, the system can currently only treat around 7,000 cubic metres per day. This corresponds to around one third of the estimated total inflow of 20,000 cubic metres per day. The remaining 13,000 cubic metres or so do not meet the statutory quality standards for agricultural irrigation and are therefore discharged into the sea.
Puerto de la Cruz: Expansion of the sewage treatment plant delayed until 2028
The Island Council stated that work on expanding the sewage treatment plant began about a month ago, following the signing of the works contract. However, there is no sign of earthworks or any other indication that construction has actually begun on the site.
The project has a total investment of just under 21 million euros, a construction period of 37 months and is scheduled for completion in 2028 at the earliest. Originally presented as an urgent measure, it was ultimately carried out under the standard procedure, which extended the timeframe.
In the Official Gazette of the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Island Council for Water Management announced on Friday that a new public information and consultation process is beginning. This forms part of the standard environmental impact assessment for the planned expansion. The authority explains that this step is due to the inclusion of new technical documentation, which shows that the project remains in the administrative and environmental assessment phase.
The residents‘ association in Puerto de la Cruz is concerned that the expansion may be inadequate even at the planning stage. Given the anticipated growth of all the municipalities in the Orotava Valley, the sewage treatment plant may not be able to fulfil its role in the long term.
Punta Brava sewer project at a standstill one year after contract award
The contract for the renewal of the Punta Brava underwater sewer was awarded around a year ago. The completion period was set at 16 months. Construction has not yet begun. According to the Island Council, preparatory work on infiltration wells, costing more than one million euros, has already been completed. However, the main works have yet to take place, as the necessary periods of good weather have been lacking in an area where underwater work is particularly challenging. „No work is being carried out on the sewer; a year on, the project is still at a standstill,“ reported „Stop Vertidos al Mar“.
There is still no detailed project in place for the complete renewal of the old sewerage network in Punta Brava. The Island Council has granted a subsidy of just under one million euros, but the lack of a planning document is preventing the work from being put out to tender. The residents‘ association warns that this puts both an end to discharges into the sea and the funding at risk, as the funding could lapse without timely proof of compliance: „There is a big difference between resolving an emergency and solving the actual problem,“ says „Stop Vertidos al Mar“.
No comments on this article yet.