Political Tension Mounts Over Water Treatment Safety at Playa Jardín

Political tension is mounting in Puerto de la Cruz over the handling of the health and environmental crisis at Playa Jardín. The Canary Islands Association of Environmental Consultants (Aeccm) has raised concerns about the potential use of organochlorine compounds—such as trihalomethanes—to treat water contaminated by sewage.

In response, the political party Nueva Canarias (NC-BC) is demanding full transparency from the Canary Islands' General Directorate of Public Health. The party is calling for the immediate release of all technical protocols and scientific reports regarding the water treatment. They warn that if these chemicals are indeed being used, it could pose a serious risk to both swimmers and the local marine environment. Valentín Correa, the party’s spokesperson in Tenerife, has stated that officials must be held accountable if the methods used fail to meet safety standards.

This issue is part of a long-standing problem along the Puerto de la Cruz coastline. Frequent beach closures due to poor water quality have exposed the outdated state of the island's sewage and treatment systems. NC-BC argues that a lack of long-term investment is the root cause of the crisis, which is now damaging both the local environment and the town’s tourism-driven economy.

The party is now calling on the Cabildo de Tenerife and the Puerto de la Cruz City Council to provide a permanent solution. They insist that the area needs a rigorous, long-term management plan rather than the temporary fixes currently being questioned by environmental experts. As uncertainty over water treatment continues, the situation remains a significant threat to both public health and the economic stability of one of the island's most popular tourist destinations.