Report dumping at the Ibiza airport treatment plant into the Font torrent
A dozen entities assure that the analyses detect contamination levels much higher than permitted and will take the results to the Prosecutor's Office and the Seprona
PalmaA dozen social, environmental, and neighborhood organizations from Ibiza have denounced alleged discharges of wastewater from the Ibiza airport's treatment plant into the Torrent de la Font, which flows into the Ses Salines Natural Park. The organizations claim that four analysis campaigns carried out between June and July have detected contamination parameters that, according to their interpretation, would far exceed the limits established by regulations.
The collectives have presented the results of the analyses at the headquarters of the Balearic Studies Institute and have announced that they will forward them to the Environmental Prosecutor's Office and Seprona so that they can investigate the facts. The samples were collected in four campaigns between the months of June and July and analyzed by an authorized laboratory. According to the reporting entities, the results point to possible non-compliance with both the discharge limits provided for in the regulations on wastewater treatment and the requirements for reusing treated water in irrigation of green areas, one of the uses made by the airport.
Contamination values far above the limits
According to the results presented by the organizations, the treatment plant would have exceeded the legal limits for biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, and suspended solids in all four campaigns.
The highest value, always according to the analyses provided by the complainants, was recorded on July 8. In this sample, some parameters would have multiplied the maximum permitted levels by seven to eighteen times. The entities assure that the samples from the rest of the campaigns would also not show a significant improvement in the facility's operation. The groups also warn of the presence of fecal contamination. Specifically, they assure that the levels of Escherichia coli exceeded the maximum quantification limit of the analytical method used in all samples. According to the entities, the detected values would be at least twelve times higher than the limit established for water reuse in the irrigation of parks and gardens.
Possible impact on es Codolar
Based on these results, the organizations consider that there is a potential risk that these waters could end up reaching es Codolar beach, located in the surroundings of the Ses Salines Natural Park. For this reason, they demand that urgent controls be carried out on the quality of the bathing waters in the area.
The entities consider that the results would not point to a specific incident, but rather to a possible "structural" problem related to the operation or capacity of the treatment plant. This issue, they assure, is particularly worrying given the planned future expansion of Ibiza airport.
The organizations have requested Aena to make public the technical data related to the operation of the treatment plant and the Directorate General of Water Resources to act to stop the alleged discharges. They also ask the Ministry of Health to verify both the quality of the reused water and that of the bathing waters of es Codolar. The results presented this Friday are what have motivated the request for an investigation to the Environmental Prosecutor's Office and Seprona. It will be these bodies that will have to determine, if applicable, the scope of the possible non-compliance and the responsibilities that may arise from it.