- Region
- Águilas
- Alhama de Murcia
- Jumilla
- Lorca
- Los Alcázares
- Mazarrón
- San Javier
-
ALL AREAS & TOWNS
- AREAS
- SOUTH WEST
- MAR MENOR
- MURCIA CITY & CENTRAL
- NORTH & NORTH WEST
- TOWNS
- Abanilla
- Abarán
- Aguilas
- Alamillo
- Alcantarilla
- Aledo
- Alhama de Murcia
- Archena
- Balsicas
- Blanca
- Bolnuevo
- Bullas
- Cañadas del Romero
- Cabo de Palos
- Calasparra
- Camping Bolnuevo
- Campo De Ricote
- Camposol
- Canada De La Lena
- Caravaca de la Cruz
- Cartagena
- Cehegin
- Ceuti
- Cieza
- Condado de Alhama
- Corvera
- Costa Cálida
- Cuevas De Almanzora
- Cuevas de Reyllo
- El Carmoli
- El Mojon
- El Molino (Puerto Lumbreras)
- El Pareton / Cantareros
- El Raso
- El Valle Golf Resort
- Fortuna
- Fuente Alamo
- Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
- Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
- Isla Plana
- Islas Menores & Mar de Cristal
- Jumilla
- La Azohia
- La Charca
- La Manga Club
- La Manga del Mar Menor
- La Pinilla
- La Puebla
- La Torre
- La Torre Golf Resort
- La Unión
- Las Palas
- Las Ramblas
- Las Ramblas Golf
- Las Torres de Cotillas
- Leiva
- Librilla
- Lo Pagan
- Lo Santiago
- Lorca
- Lorquí
- Los Alcázares
- Los Balcones
- Los Belones
- Los Canovas
- Los Nietos
- Los Perez (Tallante)
- Los Urrutias
- Los Ventorrillos
- Mar De Cristal
- Mar Menor
- Mar Menor Golf Resort
- Mazarrón
- Mazarrón Country Club
- Molina de Segura
- Moratalla
- Mula
- Murcia City
- Murcia Property
- Pareton
- Peraleja Golf Resort
- Perin
- Pilar de la Horadada
- Pinar de Campoverde
- Pinoso
- Playa Honda
- Playa Honda / Playa Paraíso
- Pliego
- Portmán
- Pozo Estrecho
- Puerto de Mazarrón
- Puerto Lumbreras
- Puntas De Calnegre
- Region of Murcia
- Ricote
- Roda Golf Resort
- Roldan
- Roldan and Lo Ferro
- San Javier
- San Pedro del Pinatar
- Santiago de la Ribera
- Sierra Espuña
- Sucina
- Tallante
- Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
- Torre Pacheco
- Totana
- What's On Weekly Bulletin
- Yecla
- EDITIONS: Spanish News Today Alicante Today Andalucia Today
ARCHIVED - Beach repairs progress in San Pedro del Pinatar
Beaches are being returned to optimal levels as the tourist season approaches
Today is Ash Wednesday and the onset of Lent means that the arrival of the first major tourist influx of Easter is inching every closer.
For the Mar Menor this first important landmark week brings both the prospect of increased takings for the businesses which have lost so much money throughout the winter season following the devastating floods which have hit the area three times in the last few months, but also trepidation about how the lagoon will cope with the effects of a massive influx of sweet water and the silt swept down from the surrounding agricultural exploitations of the Campo de Cartagena during the storms.
Since the latest episode of floods our councils, the regional government, coastal department of the national government and the CHS have been hard at work attempting to find long-term solutions to the situation, whilst hastily clearing away the debris and undertaking infrastructural repairs to beaches, promenades and streets affected by the torrential stormwaters.
Initially the level of the Mar Menor rose significantly as millions of litres of rainwater poured in via the ramblas network and urban infrastructure surrounding the lagoon, the sweet water changing the salinity level of the water in this enclosed saline environment. The silt laden sweet water remained in a mass near the surface of the water, starving the marine lagoon of oxygen and killing tens of thousands of fish and crustaceans on a Saturday morning as winds pressed it into the shore of san Pedro del Pinatar, before it finally dispersed, and has now receded back to its original level, leaving beaches stripped of sand.
Municipal services have been hard at work laying tons of sand onto the beaches, repairing promenades, bathing stations, steps, ramps and footwash facilities, clearing debris, repainting buildings and making ready for the summer, but the legacy of the storms has cast a longer shadow over the forthcoming sumemr season as the water starts to warm up, stimulating algal growth.
Although the beaches and infrastructure will show little sign of the past storms, the great unknown is how much the algae will affect the water quality this summer, and in san Pedro del Pinatar this potential issue can be seen most clearly.
The beach of Villananitos is tinged green along its entire length, as the algae multiplies, just three men with rakes modern Don Quijotes attempting to fight a windmill with a drinking straw as they rake out the algal growth by hand.
To the casual onlooker who visited the beach today to see the problem at first hand it appears to be a futile fight given the extent of the algal growth in the water, but it is to be hoped that further resources will be dedicated to the task nearer the onset of the tourist season in order to minimise the negative coverage which will undoubtedly threaten local businesses for the summer season if the algae continues to multiply.
Walking along the coastline from San Pedro del Pinatar as it merges into san Javier, workers can clearly be seen engaged in significant works to repair storm damage and ensure that the beaches are in optimum condition for the forthcoming tourist season.
The regional government last week assured the tourist sector that the water in the Mar Menor is perfectly safe for bathing, and that the algal growth is not toxic or dangerous to bathers, simply "unsightly".
At the moment the other beaches in san Pedro del Pinatar and san Javier show little evidence of the problem affecting Villananitos, although rocky areas jutting into the Mar Menor and particularly shallow fringes are tinged with green, indicating that the water is warming up and the algal growth is ready to spread if not removed rapidly.
When the last algal bloom occurred in 2016 some areas suffered more than others, particularly those in which the water was shallower, and therefore warmer, and areas in which larger deposits of silt and rocks had been deposited by water flowing into the Mar Menor from the campo.
It is therefore most likely that the same beaches will be more vulnerable this year, and not ALL beaches will suffer from the algal growth.
Updates on the weekly water analyses will continue to be posted on the Murcia beach guide as the season begins and in the Murcia Today news feed.
Follow Murcia Today on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest news, events and information in the Murcia region: https://www.facebook.com/MurciaToday/
Cartagena
El Carmoli
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Manga del Mar Menor
La Puebla
La Torre Golf Resort
La Union
Los Alcazares
Los Belones
Los Nietos
Los Urrutias
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Pilar de la Horadada
Playa Honda / Playa Paraiso
Portman
Roldan and Lo Ferro
San Javier
San Pedro del Pinatar
Santa Rosalia Lake and Life resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
Torre Pacheco
Aledo
Alhama de Murcia
Bolnuevo
Camposol
Condado de Alhama
Fuente Alamo
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Lorca
Mazarron
Puerto de Mazarron
Puerto Lumbreras
Sierra Espuna
Totana
Abaran
Alcantarilla
Archena
Blanca
Corvera
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Lorqui
Molina de Segura
Mosa Trajectum
Murcia City
Peraleja Golf Resort
Ricote
Sucina
Condado de Alhama
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Torre Golf Resort
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Mazarron Country Club
Mosa Trajectum
Peraleja Golf Resort
Santa Rosalia Lake and Life resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
La Zenia
Lomas de Cabo Roig
CAMPOSOL TODAY Whats OnCartagena SpainCoronavirusCorvera Airport MurciaMurcia Gota Fria 2019Murcia property news generic threadWeekly Bulletin