Compiled with the help of artificial intelligence, based on Spanish-language information. Source below the article.
Two more Tenerife beaches closed over sewage contamination
The problem of faecal water contamination in Tenerife is spreading, and this very Wednesday the closure of two more beaches has been decreed — one in the north of the island and one in the south. They are El Socorro, in Los Realejos, and El Médano, in Granadilla de Abona.
El Socorro sealed off after E. coli detected
At El Socorro, users were asked to leave the sand and the water, and the cove — the main beach in the municipality and a benchmark for surfing in the Canary Islands — was sealed off shortly after midday. The decision was taken following water quality checks carried out on Wednesday morning, between 10:45 and 11:48, with the results communicated to Los Realejos Council at 12:55. The tests revealed high levels of the faecal bacterium E. coli.
The council then sent the Local Police to the beach and sealed it off, according to users of the cove who witnessed the closure and spoke to this newspaper. This closure adds to those that occurred in August and September at Playa Jardín, in Puerto de la Cruz, where swimming was already advised against for almost a year, from July 2024 to June 2025. As with those two previous closures, the one at El Socorro is expected to be short-lived, although it has been officially announced that reopening is anticipated this Friday.
For years, and in the face of the growing crisis over discharges in Puerto de la Cruz — where the outfall, which has cracks, is located and which technicians now say must be replaced with a new one, along with the Punta Brava treatment plant — it has constantly been recalled that a good part of the sea currents run from the port towards Los Realejos and the rest of Daute and the Isla Baja. According to other witnesses, the El Socorro webcam stopped working shortly after the closure. This newspaper tried unsuccessfully to obtain a response from Los Realejos Council.
El Médano red flag raised over enterococcus levels
As for the second closure, it took place at El Médano, a beach where closures due to faecal water discharges are not unusual. Granadilla Council has explained through its social media channels that testing has detected that the enterococcus parameter exceeds the maximum permitted level, standing at 210 cfu/100 ml against a limit value of 200 cfu/100 ml. In addition, the red flag has been raised, temporarily prohibiting swimming.
On Wednesday, it added, samples were taken again for a counter-analysis by the municipal service. The council explains that this measure is being taken to guarantee the safety of bathers, pending the results of the latest analysis, and that once the water is confirmed as suitable for swimming, the beach will be reopened. The council recommends following the restrictions imposed by the beach lifeguard and safety team.
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