playa jardin contamination transparency

Playa Jardín contamination: Residents demand transparency

Group demands answers over contamination at Playa Jardín

The Stop Vertidos al Mar (Stop Dumping at Sea) platform, made up of residents of Punta Brava who have long raised concerns about sanitation problems, has reacted to the latest episode of micro-biological contamination detected at Playa Jardín between 22 and 24 June. The group has questioned the way the incident was handled and says it is “very worrying” that the public “was not informed of the issue, nor were any preventive measures taken” while water quality was being assessed.

‘Transparency is a basic principle’

Speaking on behalf of the group, its president, Tania Hernández, argues that “transparency is a basic principle when public health is at stake” and maintains that the lack of information during those days “creates uncertainty and damages the trust of residents, users and visitors”. In her view, this episode once again highlights that “the structural problems at Playa Jardín remain far from fully resolved” and that, beyond the specific results of individual tests, it is necessary to push for “permanent solutions to the deficiencies in the sanitation system and rigorous, ongoing monitoring” of water quality.

Unfinished infrastructure projects

Her criticisms are not new. Coinciding with the first anniversary of Playa Jardín’s reopening, the platform had already warned that most of the promised works to solve the discharge problem remained incomplete or were suffering delays. These included the expansion of the regional water treatment plant in Punta Brava itself (to increase its treatment capacity), the full commissioning of the tertiary treatment system that allows treated water to be reused, the replacement of the same plant’s submarine outfall (through which treated water is discharged into the sea), the regularisation of the pumping stations that carry wastewater to the treatment plant, and the renovation of the neighbourhood’s ageing sewer network.

Controversy over communication protocol

The platform’s latest reaction comes after news emerged of a micro-biological contamination incident at Playa Jardín recorded between 22 and 24 June. The detection of micro-organisms associated with wastewater discharges, with levels exceeding regulatory limits and harmful to health, coincided with the San Juan festivities, according to the group’s own denunciation on 22 July. Specifically, the platform was the first to raise the alarm publicly after consulting the official test results, and considers it “should never have had to play that role”, arguing that “it was up to the competent authorities to inform the public of an incident with possible repercussions for public health”.

According to the Canary Islands’ Health Surveillance Programme for Bathing Water Zones, this type of incident should lead to a recommendation to temporarily ban swimming until new favourable results are available. However, it was precisely the application of this protocol that caused a disagreement between Puerto de la Cruz Town Council and the regional Directorate General of Public Health. While the regional department maintains that it took samples on 22 June and, after receiving results the following day detecting micro-biological contamination, alerted the Town Council on 23 June by telephone and email (the official channels) to temporarily prohibit swimming, the council initially insisted it had not received any official notice.

Mayor acknowledges email was received

The controversy continued when the mayor, Leopoldo Afonso, acknowledged during the last full council meeting that the council had indeed received the email from Public Health, although he claimed it was not seen until 24 June. The mayor also argued that the council had commissioned its own tests, which came back favourable, although these have not been made public and the only determining factor for ordering a beach closure are those carried out by Public Health. Regarding those tests, the platform says the mayor promised during a press conference to meet with its representatives to show them the council-commissioned results. A meeting which, according to the group’s president, “never took place”.

‘No response’ from municipal government

The group also maintains that it has requested meetings with the municipal government on several occasions, both by formal registration and by message, without receiving any response. For Hernández, this lack of information and institutional dialogue reinforces the need to act with greater clarity. Although she acknowledges that the June incident was “brief and specific”, she warns that if the outstanding infrastructure continues to be delayed and this type of episode is not communicated “with maximum transparency”, there is a risk of “allowing a situation to become chronic that already had very serious consequences for Playa Jardín and for the image of the municipality”. Despite this, she trusts that what happened “is an exception and not the start of a new pattern similar to that experienced last year”.

Call for clearer protocols

The residents of Punta Brava are now calling on the Town Council to clearly explain what procedures were in place during those days, how they were applied, and what changes will be implemented to prevent a similar situation from happening again. They believe that “the communication and action protocols did not work as they should have” and are demanding greater coordination between administrations so that those who live on and enjoy the coast do not continue to bear the consequences of “so many institutional failures”.

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