ARCHIVED - 175 tons of seaweed and vegetation removed from beaches in the southern Mar Menor

Cartagena Town Hall prepares for the Easter holidays and invests in improvements in Los Urrutias

To say that the winter now coming to an end has been a difficult one for the beaches of the Mar Menor would be to understate the case, with destructive “gota fría” storms in September and December and the passage of Storm Gloria in late January having brought flooding, sand erosion and a proliferation of algal growth in the water due to the rapid alteration of water quality parameters, but the Town Hall of Cartagena is stepping up its operations to ensure that the seafront at the southern end of the lagoon is in the best possible condition when Easter Week arrives in early April.

Between them, workers employed by the Town Hall and the Costas department are reported to have removed 175 tons of vegetation from the beaches of the southern Mar Menor in the last few weeks, according to information given this weekend by Noelia Arroyo, the Deputy Mayoress of Cartagena. At the same time, though, Sra Arroyo warned that the task is far from over and the work will have to continue as large quantities of seaweed and vegetation are still accumulating along the shore, particularly in the area around Punta Brava and Los Urrutias.

As things stand, though, the beaches of Villas Caravaning and Playa Paraíso are already in acceptable condition and it only remains to hope that the weather is kinder from now on than it has been over the last few months.

As well as cleaning up the beaches themselves, workers are involved in repairing and restoring the seafront walls, painting lamp posts and checking that plant pots and flower beds are in good condition in preparation for the traditional Easter influx of tourists seeking some springtime sunshine. Re-tarmacking work is under way in the places where it is most urgently required, and the Deputy Mayoress reassures residents that as soon as the budget becomes available the campaign will be extended to cover the whole area.

At the same time, the Town Hall is taking steps to cater for the very real possibility that the construction of five bathing stations in the traditional style along the inland shore of the Mar Menor, with jetties extending beyond the shoreline where mud and seaweed can accumulate to take bathers out to the clearer water a short distance from the sand, may not be completed in time for the summer. It is reported in La Verdad that bids have been invited for a contract to install floating jetties similar to those found in marinas in and around Los Urrutias, each of them between 40 and 60 metres long, in order to make good any shortfall.

Other Town Hall efforts to support the summer season on the coastline of the Mar Menor this year include support for the local summer fiesta events, a series of leisure and sporting activities and, in Los Urrutias, the creation of a beach football pitch to be funded by the takings at the charity football match played in November between FC Cartagena and FC Barcelona.

Follow Murcia Today on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest news, events and information in the Region of Murcia and the rest of Spain: https://www.facebook.com/MurciaToday/