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The project to equip Cala Sant Esteve with a sewage system raises questions about compliance with current regulations, could alter the cove’s landscape, and is further clouded by a large-scale land purchase adjacent to the urban area.

The GOB has submitted objections to the proposed sanitation project for Cala Sant Esteve, a small housing development traditionally tied to local residents.

Installing a sewage system is an intervention with two sides. On one hand, having proper wastewater collection systems undoubtedly reduces the risk of occasional contamination in the bathing area.

On the other hand, it enables the development of plots currently on hold due to the lack of this basic infrastructure.

Wastewater reservoir relocated to the end of the ravine

The project proposes a station that would collect wastewater from all houses in the housing development and pump it out of the cove, essentially acting as a temporary reservoir. The issue arises because the project has been modified after approval, with the new location now proposed at the end of the Sant Esteve ravine, within the flood control zone.

The Regulation on Public Hydraulic Domain states, in the article on Flood Control Zones, that wastewater storage facilities and treatment stations are not permitted unless it is demonstrated that there are no better alternatives and that their operation is compatible with flooding events.

The project lacks analysis of alternative locations outside the flood control zone and fails to include measures demonstrating compatibility with potential flooding from the ravine. Given that there are safer locations, it is requested that the reception and pumping station be relocated outside the flood control zone.

Additionally, the proposed location contradicts the Coastal Law, which prohibits wastewater facilities within the first 20 meters of the protection servitude zone.

Potential landscape impact

Cala Sant Esteve largely retains a landscape-integrated appearance, as most of the shoreline is naturally landscaped with native vegetation, except for a few spots with exotic species. This distinguishes it from more modern and standardized housing developments that tend to display a harder, artificial coastline.

The project describes plans to install wooden stakes with double ropes along the entire shoreline as a safety measure to prevent falls into the sea. Such intervention would eliminate much of the existing vegetation along the coast.

For this reason, it has been requested that the intervention avoid unnecessary transformations and limit itself to water supply and sewage works without altering the cove’s distinctive appearance. The existing vegetation already serves as protection in many areas between the pedestrian path and the sea, so safety measures to prevent falls should be restricted to specific points where there is no spontaneous vegetation.

Thousands of square meters of adjacent land recently sold

Much of the land bordering the southern urbanized area of the cove, including barren plots around the Marlborough fort, changed ownership a few months ago. The new owners report having acquired over 53,000 m².

While these are protected lands and such a transaction would normally be of little significance, it coincides with a period when the Government is radically amending Balearic legislation with little oversight and the Island Council is announcing changes to the Territorial Plan.

It is therefore necessary to highlight the coincidence of this land acquisition with the processing of infrastructure that not only improves wastewater collection but also raises construction expectations for newly available plots.

The company that owns this land identifies itself as being dedicated to real estate development.