(Guadix area) The new conservative administration in charge at the Diputacion de Granada (provincial council) has denounced that the domestic water supply of three towns in the province contained pesticide during a whole year.

The Vice-Chairwoman of the provincial body, Luisa Garcia Chamorro, highlighted what she considered chaos in the public works, left by the previous administration.

Specific criticism was leveled at the the mains water supply for three municipalities in north-west Granada: Benalua de Guadix, Purullena and Fonelas, where a drinking water plant allegedly supplied water with traces of pesticides.

Sr. Garcia considers that the rush to inaugurate the plant before the municipal elections back in May were the cause of this situation. She claims that as well as leaving an unpaid bill for 77,000 euros, belonging to the company that built the plant, the installations were activated without carbon filters being in place, meaning that the installations also lacked the required seal of approval from the Health Authorities. When inspectors did come round to take samples, they found pesticide residue in them.

All this resulted in the plant being closed down whilst traces were eliminated and the necessary carbon filters installed – adding a further 38,000 to the total cost, per filter. The plant has still not returned to normal, so in the meantime these municipalities are drawing water from a well with a slight pesticide content, but to date, nobody has fallen ill from it.

Update: The Mayor of Purullena, Jose Luis Garcia (PA), has denied that his township and the municipalities of Fonellas and Benalua had contaminated water supplies. Also present at the press conference was the ex-Mayor of Benalua, Juan Hidalgo.

Sr Garcia stated that the water-treatment plants were put into use in July 2010 with all the relevant permits and only after testing had been carried out. The periodic sample taking did not register any anomaly until the 17th of May of this year.

The installations were shut down the very next day, he claims, so that it could be cleaned up. He says that since that moment the villages have taken their water from traditional wells that have served the municipalities for the last 40 years.

There is no dispute that the anomalies are the fruit of a lack of carbon filters, but, as the Mayor points out, the fact that they were missing does not automatically indicate that the water was ‘defective’ from the beginning, as the periodic sample taking indicates.

Lastly, he considers that it is not the fault of the of these towns that there were not carbon filters, and therefore believes that it is unjust that they have to pay the 3,000-euro fine levied by the health authorities.

(News: Guadix area, Granada, Andalucia)