Date Published: 08/04/2020
ARCHIVED - Murcia government warns of deterioration in the Mar Menor after recent heavy rain
ARCHIVED ARTICLE 
Cartagena plans piers this summer to allow bathers to avoid mud and algae along the shore
The last week or so has seen something of an improvement in many of the key water quality measures in the Mar Menor (although salinity remains very low), but on Tuesday Antonio Luengo, the minister for Agriculture and the Environment in the Murcia government, warned that the figures have worsened since the most recent of the 4 heavy storms to have affected the Region since last September.
As a result, he averred, the condition of the water and the amount of algal bloom visible on the surface are likely to rise significantly as water temperature increases in the next few weeks. In addition, he warns, the conditions appear to indicate that another episode of anoxia could be imminent, similar to the one which caused tons of dead fish to wash up on the beaches of the lagoon in October.
Earlier in the year attempts were made to halt the spread of the algae visible alongside beaches such as that of Lo Pagán in San Pedro del Pinatar by manually raking the algae out of the water, but following this latest episode of rain and the cleaning efforts being hampered by the onset of Covid-19, there is now no hope that the shallower areas of the Mar Menor in which the water always warms considerably, will escape the algal bloom this summer.
In statements made by Sr Luengo as he demanded steps from the national government in order to reduce the amount of water in the aquifer beneath the Campo de Cartagena, he once again appeared reluctant to accept that the level of agricultural activity in the crop fields is widely viewed as the most important cause of the deterioration in the condition of the lagoon over the last 50 years. It is widely accepted that the use of fertilizers and nutrients in the Campo de Cartagena is one of the main causes in the changing water quality in the Mar Menor, but the minister’s view continues to be that the solution is to stop the nutrients making their way into the lagoon via the aquifer and the natural floodwater runoff channels (“ramblas”) rather than to restrict agricultural practices.

Obviously, stopping the nutrients reaching the water will contribute to the overall health of the lagoon, but should only be considered just one element of a wider problem.
(Click here for a summary of the problems in the marine environment of the Mar Menor and how they have come about.)
Meanwhile, the Town Hall of Cartagena has announced its intention to install five piers along the inland shore of the Mar Menor this summer in order to allow bathers to walk over the algae and mud along the shore and reach clearer water between 60 and 110 metres away from the edge. These structures will stand in for the long-awaited bathing stations for which full approval has still not been given.
Los Alcázares is also planning to adopt a similar measure.
Image: the Mar Menor during the latest episode of heavy rain on 24th March
Join the Mar Menor group on Facebook for info about Los Alcázares, San Javier, San Pedro del Pinatar, Torre Pacheco, La Unión and Cartagena and keep up to date with all the latest news and events in the Mar Menor: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MarMenorNewsAndEvents/
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