On Wednesday afternoon the GVA informed the Pilar de la Horadada Council that Playa de Las Villas could be reopened for bathers following its closure, some 24 hours earlier, due to its contamination of and unknown residual origin.
The General Directorate of Water of the Generalitat Valenciana reported that the levels are adequate once again, and that the quality of the water is suitable for bathing.
Current legislation on the quality of bathing water requires closing the area until the analytical results of “the samplings carried out are consistent with a quality of water” that is suitable for bathing, as clarified by the Pilareño City Council. Which is what happened at noon on Wednesday.
Municipal sources have ruled out that the source of contamination originates from the sanitation network, which has been corroborated by the management company, Acciona. The same sources have also confirmed that there is no evidence whatsoever that it could be derived from the underwater outfall that the Murcia Region Sanitation body has about three kilometers from the coast. The most probable option, they say, is the contamination by the discharges from recreational boats or sailboats.
Episodes of beach closures for short-term bathing in the province due to fecal contamination are occurring relatively frequently this summer. They have already been eight closures in less than a month.
Last week sections of the Guardamar del Segura coast were closed, as was Alicante in San Gabriel, Agua Amarga and Urbanova in Santa Pola and two other beaches in Xàbia on the Marina Alta coast. Sections of Cala Mosca and Cala Estaca in Orihuela Costa were also close off as a result of traces of fecal water from a boulevard which was evident to the naked eye.
