Maó groundwater: chloride concern in two areas

Maó, Menorca: chloride levels in two areas of its groundwater cause more concern than elsewhere, but the Balearic government says there is no alarming rise overall. On Wednesday, 4 November, Balearic sea and water minister Juan Manuel Lafuente told a parliamentary committee that readings were following their previous pattern. The hearing followed a request from Carolina Marquès, a member of the socialist PSIB party, for Menorca groundwater data from 2023 to 2026.

Marquès said she had asked for water-quality results and levels in monitoring wells. Instead, she said, she was directed to government websites whose data had not been updated since last year. She said groundwater levels in Migjorn and s’Albaida had fallen by several metres and noted that Menorca remained on drought pre-alert.

She asked whether there had been a risk of seawater entering the groundwater, and how falling levels might affect contaminant levels. She did not say seawater had entered it.

Lafuente denied hiding information. He said Marquès’s request covered 223 monitoring points, 3,940 measurements and 1,115 analyses — too much, he argued, to provide in full in a written reply. He said the data could be accessed through the government portals and that Maó town council had the latest test results.

Topics: Environment · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com