Sencelles demands to stop the laundry and take the water pollution to the Prosecutor's Office

SencellesThe Sencelles Town Hall will take the municipality's water situation to the Environmental Prosecutor's Office. The Consistory has announced this drastic measure so that both the origin of the chemical contamination detected in the Son Saletes network – which has forced the water to be declared unfit for human consumption – and the possible administrative omissions accumulated over more than two decades can be investigated. In parallel, the government team has demanded the immediate and precautionary suspension of discharges from the industrial laundry Elis Mallorca (formerly Lavanderías Diana) until it is clarified whether it is related to this episode.

The alert was triggered by the latest analyses communicated by the supplier Aguas Son Company. The analyses have revealed concentrations of contaminants known as PFAS above the limits allowed by health regulations. Specifically, a value of 0.12 micrograms per liter for the sum of 20 PFAS has been recorded, when the maximum allowed is 0.10, and 0.09 micrograms per liter of PFOS, which exceeds the limit of 0.07. Although the Consistory points out that it does not currently have analytical evidence attributing the contamination to a specific activity, it considers it essential to apply the precautionary principle to protect public health.

This situation, however, is not seen as an isolated event in the area. The municipality has been dragging more than 20 years of warnings and repeated complaints from the Town Hall, the residents of Biniali, and environmental organizations about discharges into the Solleric stream. As early as 2001, controls at the former Lavanderías Diana were publicly questioned, and in 2002, analyses commissioned by the municipality already detected contamination in the stream and in several wells. Despite these warnings, the General Directorate of Water Resources renewed the discharge permit for the private treatment plant in 2003.

The history of complaints has been constant over the years. In 2004, wastewater and odors were reported again, in 2010 several owners had to stop consuming water from their wells due to the presence of foam, and in 2018 the Consistory again criticized the lack of regional action. More recently, in October 2025, the Town Hall requested an urgent study following the death of about twenty mature trees in the same stream, a request that also did not receive a prompt or definitive response from the competent authorities.

Inaction

Sources from the Sencelles Town Hall maintain that it is not stated without proof that the contamination comes from the laundry, but they emphasize that given the background and the proximity of the activity, immediate action must be taken: "Water Resources has known about this problem for decades. We have filed complaints, commissioned analyses, and requested studies, but the response has been insufficient, and today we have a network declared unfit for consumption. We do not rule out seeking criminal and political responsibility if it is confirmed that administrative inaction has put the population's health at risk".

Given the seriousness of the facts, the local corporation has not only called for an end to the laundry's discharges and for legal action. It also demands from the administrations an urgent and exhaustive inspection of the industrial facilities, specific analyses of wastewater, sampling in the stream and surrounding wells, and the study of the Consell treatment plant as a possible alternative focus. Likewise, a hydrogeological study has been requested to understand the circulation of groundwater, the review of discharge permits, and, above all, that an alternative supply of drinking water for the affected users of Son Saletes be immediately guaranteed.