ARCHIVED - Mar Menor bathing stations receive green light from hydro-dynamics experts

The structures will have no significant effect on erosion or sedimentation in the lagoon

The plan to install five traditional-style bathing stations and jetties in the Mar Menor has won backing from the Environmental Hydraulics Institute of Cantabria (the leading authority in Spain in its field) in a study commissioned by the regional government to assess the environmental impact of the structures.

The report concludes that the bathing stations in Los Urrutias, Punta Brava, Estrella de Mar and El Carmolí will have “a minimal and practically unnoticeable” influence on the hydro-dynamics of the Mar Menor, causing no additional problems related to either sedimentation or erosion. This effectively quells doubts which had been harboured by the Spanish Oceanographic Institute concerning the possibility of effects on sea grass meadows in the lagoon.

When the decision was made to construct the bathing stations it was in response to requests from local residents along the inland shore of the Mar Menor and with the blessing of the scientific committee which is overseeing the project to regenerate and protect the marine environment, and while concerns were expressed over some possible side-effects the experts all agree that the pillars on which the jetties will stand will provide shelter for species including seahorses, whose numbers are now increasing in the lagoon after dropping by over 90 per cent.

However, the administrative procedures prior to construction are dragging on, and after a cultural heritage impact report is completed, most probably during this month, the final step will be to gain approval from the national Department of Coasts. Only then can the works contracts be put out to tender, each of them with a budget of 277,300 euros, enabling the construction of the stations which were originally forecast to be ready for the end of 2018.

The jetties will be in the shape of a starfish, consisting of a series of platforms at different heights, and will enable beachgoers to reach clear water without having to wade through the unpleasant mud which sometimes accumulates along the shore.

Image: one of the bathing jetties in Santiago de la Ribera

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