The Stop Vertidos al Mar Platform has once again focused attention on the state of sanitation infrastructure in Puerto de la Cruz, just days before the first anniversary of the reopening of Playa Jardín. The beach, which was closed for nearly a year due to high levels of fecal contamination, reopened for swimming on June 17, 2025. However, the citizen group believes that doubts persist regarding the execution of planned works and the guarantee of a definitive solution to the discharges.
According to the platform, most of the necessary structural actions remain unfulfilled or are significantly delayed, coupled with a notable lack of transparency. Among the pending works are the tertiary treatment of the Wastewater Treatment Plant (EDAR), the expansion of the regional treatment plant, the rehabilitation of the submarine outfall of Punta Brava, auxiliary filter wells, the regularization of pumping stations (EBAR), and the improvement of the neighborhood's sewage network. The association also calls for more information on water quality controls and the actual functioning of these infrastructures, emphasizing that "there is a big difference between solving an emergency and solving the underlying problem."
The Tenerife Island Council and BALTEN promoted the tertiary treatment at the regional EDAR, an additional purification phase aimed at improving the quality of treated water for reuse in agricultural irrigation in Los Realejos and the rest of the Valley. Although the installation was completed in 2025, its commissioning has suffered successive deadline extensions. BALTEN's technical documentation indicates that partial operation began in June 2025, and the first sustained discharge was not achieved until the 10th, still within a testing period. The platform questions whether the objective has been met while the network is not fully consolidated.
Official data from the insular Sector Primario area reveal that the current system only treats about 7,000 cubic meters per day, one-third of the total flow received by the treatment plant (estimated at around 20,000 m3 per day). The remaining 13,000 cubic meters per day do not receive the necessary tertiary treatment, do not meet the quality standards for agricultural irrigation, and are discharged into the sea, thus being wasted.
Regarding the expansion of the regional EDAR, with an investment of nearly 21 million euros, the Island Council states that the work has begun after the site survey report about a month ago, but no earthmoving activities are visible on the ground. The project, initially deemed urgent, is being processed through the ordinary route, extending its execution period to 37 months and postponing its completion until at least 2028. The platform warns that the expansion might be insufficient from its design to meet the projected growth of the municipalities in the Valley.
Furthermore, the Insular Water Council of Tenerife has opened a new public information procedure for the Environmental Impact Assessment of the future expansion of the EDAR, indicating that the project is still in its administrative and environmental phases.
The replacement of the Punta Brava submarine outfall, awarded a year ago with a 16-month execution period, has also not yet commenced. Stop Vertidos considers this action a priority for environmental safety and coastal protection, but denounces the inaction. The Island Council attributes the delay to the lack of good weather windows in an area that is particularly challenging for underwater work, although the contract has been awarded to Ferrovial and auxiliary works exceeding one million euros have been carried out.
There is no public information regarding the auxiliary filter wells, intended to temporarily divert residual water flows into the subsoil to reduce discharges into the sea. Their design, specific purpose, capacity, environmental controls, and risk assessment remain unknown. The current status of the EBAR in El Caletón, Playa Chica, and Playa Jardín, which pump sewage to the treatment plant, is also unknown. Reports from the Agency for Environmental Protection and the Environmental Prosecutor's Office revealed that these stations operated irregularly, discharging wastewater into the sea without authorization.
The drafting of the project to completely renew the old sewage system in Punta Brava remains pending, despite a grant of almost one million euros from the Island Council. The absence of this administrative step prevents the works from being put out to tender and jeopardizes the funding.
While the City Council remains unresponsive regarding the EBAR, sewage system, and filter wells, Stop Vertidos denounces accumulated announcements without solutions in Punta Brava. The Island Council insists that water quality is excellent, but the platform counters that legal analyses do not resolve all issues. As long as the tertiary treatment does not operate at full capacity, a significant portion of the water relies on disinfection with sodium hypochlorite, which can generate potentially carcinogenic and toxic disinfection byproducts, posing risks to public health and ecological impact.
The reopening of Playa Jardín is not a definitive solution as long as key infrastructure remains incomplete, delayed, or lacks transparency. The Stop Vertidos al Mar Platform calls for public information, project updates, and a comprehensive response that guarantees effective coastal protection and structurally resolves a problem that, they warn, "is still not solved."
