In a Plenary Meeting of the Salobreña Town Council a motion was approved concerning the stain that periodically appears each summer. It was agreed to approach the Board of Agriculture, asking them to take samples of the seawater off the beaches and state that it is safe for bathing.

The said stain, whose origin is apparently ‘not known,’ appears each summer and will probably do the same this year as well, the Town Hall considers.

The motion was backed unanimously by every political party represented in the Town Council.

It was in August, 2018, that Salobreña requested the collaboration of several administrative agencies to determine the origin of the stain culminating in a study sent to the Town Hall by the environmental branch of the Guardia Civil (Seprona) which identified the substance at a harmless phytoplankton.

To quote Wikipedia: “most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye. However, when present in high enough numbers, some varieties may be noticeable as coloured patches on the water surface due to the presence of chlorophyll within their cells and accessory pigments”

Then, in August last year, Salobreña planted the same problem before the Junta; i.e., there is a problem with the seawater off its beaches, which was causing “social unease.” Salobreña requested a thorough study carried out by the research boat belonging to the Junta’s Board of Agriculture. At the same time the Town Council ordered an inspection of the town’s sewage disposal system to make sure that there were no leaks, but they found that there were none.

Today they find themselves still waiting for an answer from the Board of Agriculture, which is why they have again made the same request, especially this year in the middle of the pandemic when town halls are called upon to guarantee the health of their beaches.

 

 

Editorial comment: the elephant in the room is whether it is in fact sewage water coming not from another municipality but within the limits of Salobreña, a possible culprit whose name nobody wants to say in public.

(News: Salobrena, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)