Alex Trelinski
COMPLAINTS about untreated wastewater being pumped into the sea off Benidorm have prompted two councils to demand urgent action.
The El Xoriguer environmentalist group says that the sewage has been dumped since Monday in a protected area of the Serra Gelada Natural Park at Punta Escaleta.
The Directorate of Water- a branch of the Ministry of the Environment- took the decision for the discharges to go ahead as maintenance work takes place at the Benidorm Water treatment plant, which is scheduled to end on Wednesday.
El Xoriguer Group spokesman, Jaume Vaello, said: “Wastewater from a large section of Benidorm’s population including items like sanitary napkins, plastic and wipes are polluting the sea.”
He added that the sewage is reaching the sea via an underground sinkhole and that measures should have been taken to ‘lessen the impact’.
The councils at l’Alfas del Pi and Altea- as members of the Governing Board of the Serra Gelada Natural Park- have now demanded an emergency board meeting to address the matter and to end the discharges.
L’Alfas environment councillor, Luis Morant, said: “The fact is that these discharges go directly to the heart of the Serra Gelada Natural Park and must be addressed right now in an urgent session of the Governing Board of the Park.”
“This is the only maritime-terrestrial park in the Valencian Community and a place of extraordinary value, he added.”
