Tag Archives: Waste & sewage

Rewarding Illegal Pools?

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The Alaior Town Council has granted a license to legalize the pools at the Torre Vella agrotourism site, ignoring the warning from the former Environmental Commission, which argued that environmental violations cannot be retroactively legalized.

Decree Law 3/2024, introduced by the Council last May under the guise of “administrative simplification,” actually modifies over 50 regulations. Among the most controversial changes are the lifting of bans on construction in flood-prone areas and the dissolution of the Environmental Commission. We are now starting to see the results of these changes.

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Water in Maó: opening more windows

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Commenting on a sensitive topic always has its risks, yet advancing environmental issues has never been easy.

For weeks, there has been an ongoing discussion about the water crisis in Maó, stemming from the failure to notify citizens when an excess of nitrates was detected in the municipal water supply. The political cost of this incident is clear, with resignations, an extraordinary council meeting, and the launch of further investigations. Many are watching closely.

For these reasons, the GOB waited a few days before discussing the broader consequences of this water crisis: the economic, environmental, and social uncertainties it brings.

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Maó’s water: an urgent and important matter

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Elevated nitrate levels in Maó’s tap water bring a series of urgent issues that must be addressed with proper information.

Beyond these urgent matters lie several key causes—the root of the problem, which should not be overshadowed by media headlines.

The GOB advocates for a tariff revision, reducing rates for reasonable consumption and raising them significantly for excessive usage.

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Dangerous reclaimed water for irrigation

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The chlorides in the treated water intended for irrigation in Sant Lluís double the maximum permitted levels. Over half of the water reaching the treatment plant may also contain other contaminants. Seven public supply wells could be affected if contamination occurs.

The GOB has submitted objections to the reclaimed water irrigation project that the Balearic Government’s Agriculture Department is promoting in Sant Lluís, warning of its lack of guarantees and the high contamination risks associated with it.

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The Cap d’en Font housing development, fined for illegal sewage discharge

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The presence of a pipe that had been discharging sewage onto the rocks at Cap d’en Font has resulted in a proposed fine of €150,000.

Last summer, GOB Menorca reported the illegal discharge of sewage from a house in Cap d’en Font, a residential area filled with large villas and lush green lawns but lacking a proper sewage system. The sewage had been flowing through a concealed pipe hidden among the vegetation, and eyewitnesses indicated that this had been an ongoing issue.

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Large Irrigations in Full Sun and Against the Law

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In a year of severe drought, large forage irrigations continue to be seen watering during peak sun hours. In Menorca, this practice is prohibited by law. The GOB (Balearic Group of Ornithology and Defense of Nature) has written to the Department of Water Resources to request that large farms engaging in these practices be warned.

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Discharge of sewage water in Cap d’en Font

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The presence of sewage water along the coast of Sant Lluis  led to finding a fixed installation for a discharge into the public domain. GOB documented the case and made a formal complaint to Costas and the Department of the Environment.

Cap d’en Font has a series of large chalets with enormous lawns in their gardens. For that reason, the area was chosen by GOB to show the large consumption of water taken for gardening, as part of the framework for their excursions made last year in their campaign Menorca In-SOS-tenible.

Some of the people on this excursion saw, in an open area close to one of the large chalets, an area covered by shrubs and weeds, filled with sewage water and told GOB. An inspection led to finding a pipe hidden in the vegetation, from where the discharge came.

Comments from the neighbours suggested that they had noticed, on other occasions, rocks with coloured waters and suspicious smells. It pointed to a habitual practice of the emptying of a septic tank belonging to a chalet, which, they also said, had a lot of summer tourist activity despite not having a tourist rental permit.

Cap d’en Font is one of the urbanizations that does not have a sewage system. The owner of each establishment is responsible for contracting someone to empty their septic tank when it is full.

GOB estimates that the garden attached to the discovered “facility” must use about 1000 litres of water daily just for maintaining the lawn in the summer. This is 90,000 litres, minimum, during the tourist season.

For that reason alone, these chalets should be, already, the object of systematic inspections. This is particularly so since there is a means for discharging sewage water into a public domain, including an area where people swim, which aggravates the situation even more.

A formal complaint has been registered with the Balearic Government Ministry of Sea (that assumed the responsibility of coastal surveillance since July) and with the Environmental Agencies.