Sewage pollution and illegal building at centre of regional government probes
THE regional government is currently investigating 227 cases of environmental offences along the province’s coastline.
Of these, 35 were against local authorities and 192 were against private companies or individuals.
“Thirty of the open investigations are for the illegal dumping of solids or liquids while the rest are for the illegal collecting of water and for building illicit roads, destruction of vegetation, covering stream and river inlets and for illegal construction,” a spokesman for the Junta de Andalucia said.
Those found guilty of any infraction, could face a fine of up to 454,000 euros.
Granada is third behind Málaga in the number of investigations – the province of the Costa del Sol currently has 910 – and Almería with 337.
Huelva has 122 while Cádiz has 79.
The investigations are independent from the Greenpeace report.
Meanwhile, the local water authority has warned housing developments along the Costa Tropical are not connected to the sewage network, resulting in waste being pumped directly into the sea.
Speaking at the announcement of plans to build a water purifying station in Albuñol, Gabriel Morales said: “We can only purify waste water from homes that are connected to the sewerage system. However, there are lots of housing estates in Salobreña and Almuñecar that are not connected to the network.
“They dump their waste into water channels and this ends up on beaches and in the sea.”
The news comes as an Almuñecar beach was closed for more than 24 hours after a fault at the EBAR pumping station left sewage – believed to be from central Almuñecar – on the Puerta del Mar beach.
