Ibiza beach contamination exceeds 2,420 in tests

Tests commissioned by Salvem sa Badia found faecal bacteria counts above 2,420 in a puddle at Es Pouet beach on Ibiza after a suspected rainwater discharge on 1 September. The group took samples around four hours later, from the puddle at the upper end of the beach and from the bathing area. Sant Antoni de Portmany Council did not close the beach, saying the water had come from the separate rainwater network after rain.

Counts far beyond bathing-water limits

In the puddle, the laboratory recorded more than 2,420 colony-forming units of intestinal enterococci per 100 ml. The legal bathing-water limit is 185. E. coli was also above 2,420 colony-forming units per 100 ml, against a maximum of 500.

At the sea edge, where Salvem sa Badia said many people were bathing when it collected the sample, E. coli measured 990 colony-forming units per 100 ml. That is almost twice the legal maximum.

The group says the results show faecal contamination reached the beach and that the council should have shut it to protect bathers. It said the tests challenged the council's explanation that rainwater and sewage systems are separate in the area.

Further samples from Portmany Bay

A second sample, taken at pontoon 2 in Sant Antoni harbour on 4 September after a discharge in dry weather, showed 1,119 colony-forming units of intestinal enterococci per 100 ml and 137.4 of E. coli. Salvem sa Badia said brown traces in the water and a strong smell had prompted the test.

The group also sampled the shore at Caló de s'Oli after a discharge on 8 September, when Sant Josep Council ordered the shoreline closed. That sea-water sample recorded 2,420 colony-forming units per 100 ml for both intestinal enterococci and E. coli, Salvem sa Badia said.

Topics: Environment · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com