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Date Published: 22/07/2021

ARCHIVED - Regional government of Murcia commits to removing algal deposits from Mar Menor beaches

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

The regional government of the Murcia region and Cartagena Council have indicated that they are going to start the removal of mud and dried silt due to "the inaction of the central government"

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Regional government of Murcia commits to removing algal deposits from Mar Menor beaches

The government of the Region of Murcia and Cartagena council have finally reached an agreement to take on the responsibility of removing the unpleasant sludge and algal deposits from the beaches of Los Urrutias, Los Nietos, Estrella de Mar and Punta Brava in the Cartagena municipality and Villananitos in San Pedro del Pinatar.

Over many years, odorous sediment has been building up in the area as a result of decomposing algae and the accumulation of sediment.

Every time there is heavy flooding in the Campo de Cartagena, silt and debris washes down into the Mar Menor, and due to the natural lie of the land and general wind direction, tends to accumulate in this particular corner of the lagoon.

Although much of the lagoon has recovered from the last major episode of algal bloom, this area is still dogged by algal slime and "fangos", the muddy silt which washes up onto the beaches, making this corner of the Mar Menor unpleasant for bathers; in Villananitos in San Pedro del Pinatar the problem of algal growth continues to require hand clearing by contracted workers.

The shallow depth of the water in this part of the lagoon makes the water warmer and is therefore encouraging sustained algal growth in the same area.

For years, residents have been pressuring the council to clean the silt and remove the accumulated deposits from the beaches, but the council has insisted that it is the responsibility of the Costas department of the national government to remove this type of deposit.

The rather complex legislation surrounding this particular point has resulted in a frustrating argument, as the various bodies slog it out between them, all of them trying to evade both the responsibility for and cost of, addressing the issue.

The national government maintains that the responsibility lies with the regional government and local council, so has made it absolutely clear that it will not intervene and expects the government of the Murcia region and council of Cartagena to fulfil their responsibilities to their residents and clean up their beaches.

The residents have become increasingly frustrated by the arguments and for the last two years have been protesting vociferously about the inaction of the local administrations; they have no interest in which of these bodies pays for the work, they just want to able to bathe without the foul odour of rotting algae and slime between their toes.

This year bathing platforms have been erected to take bathers out across the shallower areas containing the "fangos" and into deeper water where there are no problems.

Cartagena council announced nearly two years ago that it would be cleaning up the beach, then a year later that it was preparing the project to undertake the work which included an environmental impact assessment and this week new Mayoress of Cartagena, Noella Arroyo, headed up the presentation of the project which is at last being undertaken by the council and regional government to resolve the issue.

According to Arroyo, following a meeting of the interadministrative forum of the Mar Menor (which includes the Mar Menor councils and various bodies engaged in the projects relating to the lagoon) the City Council of Cartagena had fully intended to take on the project when it became clear that the national government wasn’t about to act, but the Murcian regional government has now agreed to assume the responsibility for overseeing the clean-up project.

The mayoress stressed that in her opinion neither the Autonomous Community nor the Council should be responsible for the cost of the clean-up, but given the "inaction of the government" and the demands of locals there is no choice but for them to take the job on lest the beaches deteriorate even further.

“They insist that cleaning the beaches is a municipal responsibility, and we are doing it. But it is not the responsibility, neither of the City Council nor of the Community, to clean within the Mar Menor,” she said.

With the decision made, the regional government is planning to spend a total of €326,700 on preparing the technical projects required to carry out the work.

Regional environmental minister Antonio Luengo said that 30 people are already employed in removing algal deposits from the beaches and shoreline by hand so as not to damage the fragile ecology of the lagoon, and that since 2017 more than 7,500 tonnes has been disposed of at a cost of more than €3 million. He is hopeful that a new contract, lasting until the end of 2022, and valued at two million euros will be signed “shortly” in order to ensure that there is continuous work to remove the algal material from Cartagena’s beaches.

Meanwhile, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, rather scathingly remarked that the Cartagena City Council and the government of Murcia have finally agreed to begin a job they were ultimately responsible for all along.

A letter written by Daniel Caballero, chief engineer of the Murcia Coast Demarcation would seem to support Sanchez’s point, as he states that article 115 of the Coastal Law refers to the powers of the municipalities and clearly includes "keeping the beaches in proper clean conditions" and points out that "it follows that municipal corporations can address the extraction of sludge with prior authorization from the Demarcation of Coasts and the general direction of natural environment of the CARM."

In any case, contracting specifications will be approved and a tender for the work will be published in the coming days, meaning that the cleanup of the beaches could begin by the end of the year; unfortunately not in time to prevent the inevitable complaints from all those who own property in the affected areas who are here for the summer season.

Arguments about the multiple issues surrounding the environmental management of the Mar Menor have been raging for years, as the many bodies involved in trying to find long-term solutions to the problems try to agree on practical and enforceable solutions.

Images: Ayto-Cartagena