ARCHIVED - Murcia Today Weekly Bulletin 12th June
This week Spain is preparing to move forward to the "new normality" and with just one more week to go before the state of emergency concludes, the topic of mobility and what follows midnight on Monday 21st June has been the most important topic of the week, the Covid virus and its many consequences dominating the national headlines, and the Mar Menor continuing to demand the attention of the regional media in Murcia.
So let's start with the actual Covid situation here in Spain:
Spain
Region of Murcia
Figures published on Friday 12th June for the Murcia Region have unfortunately been distorted this week by an outbreak amongst agricultural workers returning from France. Initially four workers were reported to be infected but by Friday this had increased to ten.(see below for more information).
As a result the region now has:
Active cases: 72 (71 last Friday and 161 the previous week)
Total cases diagnosed from the start of the crisis: 3,155 (1631 diagnosed by swab testing, 1524 by rapid antibody testing)
60 people are in home quarantine (this figure was only 45 last week, but 140 the week before)
12 are hospitalised, 3 of them in intensive care (last week 26 were hospitalised with four in intensive care)
Fatalities: 150 (unfortunately one death this week broke a run of 18 consecutive days with no Covid fatalities)
Number of cured cases from those diagnosed via swab testing 1,409
Covid-related articles:
Ten Murcian agricultural labourers quarantined after returning from France with Covid-19
The movement of labourers for work purposes is one of the few movements permitted between not only regions of Spain but also within the EU, and historically there has been a large seasonal interchange of agricultural labourers between France and Spain dating back centuries due to the seasonal needs of the agricultural sector, as indeed there is in Spain today.
It is still normal for agricultural labourers to move between different areas of Spain and into France to labour in the harvest, pruning and planting of specific crops and these journeys are generally organised by agencies specialising in providing day labourers.
Last weekend the return of a coach carrying 28 labourers (and 2 drivers) from the Nîmes area of France has added fuel to the fire of those concerned that the re-opening of borders and resumed mobility will facilitate the spread of Covid-19 and contribute to a second wave of the virus, although conversely, it also gave those involved in the new track, trace and isolate scheme a chance to put the new plans prepared by the Ministry of Health, into action.
The 28 day labourers were placed by temporary employment agency Terra Fecundis, who brought them back from France on a coach, dropping them off in Murcia, Lorca, Jumilla and Mula.
Within three days of arriving back in these four different municipalities, it was confirmed that some of the workers were found to be infected with Covid-19, and all of the Murcian laboureres were tested, with four found to have been infected, allegedly when in France. The figure rose steadily during the week and by Friday it had reached ten. The authorities have isolated the remaining workers on the coach, but there is now a major outbreak within the group of farms where the labourers were working in France and international co-operation is required to track, test and isolate thousands of workers and their known contacts in various countries. Click to read the complete article
Molina de Segura installs Covid social distancing pedestrian crossings
Covid-19 is set to be with us for some months to come according to the latest scientific reports and we must learn to live with the threat of Covid-19 which is unlikely to disappear from our midst until a vaccine is made widely available, something which is not expected to happen until 2021. On Friday Spain expressed its willingness to participate in a block purchase scheme for EU members when vaccines become available.
But until then, social distancing and wearing masks in public places are set to become normal parts of daily life and councils are already setting motions in place to help their residents deal with the coming months.
In Molina de Segura the council has decided to install “Covid-friendly pedestrian crossings” which help residents to go about their daily business and observe the 1.5 metre social distancing requirement announced by the national Government on Tuesday (see below).
The programme has begun in the centre of the urban town where crossings in the most transited areas have been widened to 6 metres and segmented, enabling pedestrians to observe social distancing when crossing. The central zone of the crossing is wider so that those in wheelchairs or pushchairs have more space.In a second phase the council plans to install further crossings near to health centres, the hospital, schools and centres used by those with special needs.
De-escalation
Murcia Government amplifies internal capacity of bars and restaurants to two thirds: From Monday the hostelry sector was permitted to amplify its capacity to 75% of external space and two thirds of internal space, which is more than the national government had specified for regions moving into phase 3. This was due to the government giving discretionary rights to the autonomous regions regarding some aspects of the de-escalation process. The Murcian regional Government decided on Monday that it would not exercise its discretionary right to take Murcia out of the de-escalation process and out of the state of emergency but would maintain the current status within phase 3 until 22nd June. Click to read full article. NB; on Friday the Murcian Regional Government reiterated this same position and confirmed that it would not exercise the option to take Murcia out of phase 3 next week even though the region fulfils the sanitary requirements to do so. On Friday the Region of Galicia confirmed that it would be exiting the state of emergency on Monday 15th June and would thus become the first mainland region of Spain to begin the "new normal". All other regions are remaining within the de-escalation structure.
Full movement around Spain resumes on 22nd June
A major topic in the news all week has been the question of movement between regions, and although a great deal of effort was dedicated by the media to discussing this subject with a string of politicians all week, the answer finlly came late on Friday afternoon when it was confirmed that all areas of Spain will have freedom of movement from 22nd June regardless of their de-escalation phase and that the new normality will begin in Spain at midnight on the 21st June as expected.
The big surprise and one which will generate further discussion this week as some regional presidents such as our own in Murcia are unlikely to be particularly happy about the decision is that regardless of what stage of the de-escalation process a region has reached, all of the residents of the country will be permitted free movement from midnight on the 21st June when the state of emergency expires and the country enters its “new normality”.
Apparently there is no other single piece of legislation which can give the Government the powers it needs to impede the movement of residents in a particular area other than by applying for a judicial order when the state of emergency ends, so it will be left to the governments of each of the 17 autonomous regions to make their own decisions about any restrictions they wish to impose on their own residents within their own individual regions.
Spain has a complicated power structure and although the national Government does have control over a lot of legislation and bodies such as the Guardia Civíl and Armed Forces, the 17 autonomous regions also have significant independence when it comes to running their own regions on a day to day basis and each has its own regional government.
Some of the larger regions are further subdivided into provinces, each of which will have a provincial government and within each province, further subdivisions give local municipalities their own local councils, which also have considerable control over what happens at a local level.
The ending of the state of emergency returns the power base back to the regional and local governments who regain control of their own police forces and health services, and will make their own decisions once again, respecting the conditions established in the decree relating to the “new normality” which was published on Tuesday (see below).
However, the decree does enforce a certain amount of accountability, particularly in relation to the Covid virus and should it be necessary for the government to re-introduce the state of emergency before a vaccine becomes available then it will do so, and should it be necessary to use a judicial route to isolate a specific block of the population due to a major outbreak then this will also be undertaken by the national Ministry of Health. An example being quoted in the Spanish media is that of the Hotel in Tenerife in which 200 tourists were quarantined back in February when Covid first reared its head (seems a lifetime ago !!!!).
Madrid, Barcelona and its metropolitan area, Lleida, Ávila, Salamanca, Segovia and Soria, which will remain in phase 2 of the de-escalation this week, will go directly to the “new normal” without having to go through the phase 3 next Monday evening.
Madrid announced this morning that it will again ask to advance to phase 3 next week because, according to its Health Minister, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, the region "continues to improve, in a substantial way, in all the health aspects of this crisis" in spite of the fact that the region still has the highest number of new cases and deaths in the country.
It does make a bit of a mockery of the system, and it’s a bit like saying everybody gets a coconut even if they threw the ball into the field behind them and not at the coconut shy!
Regional governments in popular holiday areas on the coast including Murcia are likely to be harbouring mixed feelings at the prospect of thousands of families from Madrid descending en-masse to their holiday apartments on Tuesday 23rd next week June even though local businesses will undoubtedly be delighted to set their tills ringing again.
Decree establishes conditions for the "new normal"
The draft decree was published on Tuesday and contained little in the way of concrete measures which will affect the daily lives of most expats living in Spain apart from those running businesses who will need to take measures within their premises and in all aspects of business activity to ensure that clients and staff are protected from any possible spread of the virus as we move forward.
Most of the other points included in the borrador, the 30 pages of which can be seen in full by clicking HERE in Spanish, deal with the internal structures of managing the Covid from a health service and administrative point of view, relating to the control of the reporting structure which must be followed to ensure Covid data is properly managed, and the supply of medications and materials required by the health service.
There is a clear obligation on the part of the regional health services to ensure material and resources are available should they be required and the health services provide the necessary ward capacity and personnel to cope with a second outbreak.
The most important point is that cases of Covid-19 must be reported to the National Health Ministry as the virus is considered as “enfermedad de declaración obligatoria urgente” and must supply data essential for the tracking of cases.
Transport
The principal point which will affect international travellers is the necessity to take contact details from travellers on public transport such as the railway network or long-distance coaches, and for the operators of these services to hold this data for a four week period in order to facilitate contact tracing should it be necessary to do so.
This will also apply to those arriving in the country on international flights and this leads into another topic which again has been a major topic of discussion all week and which again, was finally resolved on Friday; international travel.
Passenger registration cards and temperature testing only controls in Spanish airports for international travellers
With the removal of quarantine restrictions there will be little in the way of movement control to prevent passengers with Covid from entering Spain and bringing imported cases to the country although efforts will be made to contact trace based on gathering passenger data via a Passenger Location Card system.
From 1st July all Spanish airports will use thermal imaging cameras to take the temperature of international passengers passing through passport controls.
The airports will enforce social distancing measures via the use of signage, public announcements via loud speakers and digital messaging, and designated traffic corridors for passengers, all will be fitted with gel dispensers, passengers and staff must all wear masks and staff will be protected via plastic screening to minimise the risk of contagion.
Financing for these measures has been granted to Aena, the airports operator, through the document published on Tuesday laying out the measures which must be taken as Spain transits into the “new normality” and Aena will supply the manpower and equipment necessary to enforce social distancing and hygiene measures and undertake to gather the necessary data for the Ministry of Health.
This same document also specified that Aena must collaborate with the Ministry of Health in ensuring that contact data is gathered from passengers arriving in the airports as part of a track and trace process to help locate contacts in the eventuality of a Covid outbreak.
Passengers will be required to complete a Passenger Location Card (PLC), which will be given to airport staff as passengers pass through the temperature control and will be digitalised to try and ensure a smoother flow of traffic through the airports.
Data gathered during this process will be exclusive competence of the Ministry of Health.
And nothing more. No Covid testing.
By Friday afternoon there were murmerings of discontent, the loudest voice being that of the Madrid regional government, home to Barajas airport which is the largest traffic hub in Spain and handles the most passengers, expressing fear that the lack of any Covid testing would bring an increased risk to its residents from foreign arrivals. There is no hiding from this risk and all week the Ministry of Health, which has been most resistent to opening Spànish frontiers right through the crisis, has been warning about the dangers to Spain of opening its borders to foreign tourists from countries with higher rates of active cases.
This topic has been a major point for argument for weeks as the economic implications of Spain's decision to enforce a strict lockdown and maintain it have become increasingly obvious and this week the forecasts of how much this will affect the economy and jobs has been re-enforced by several warnings from the financial sector and analysts, but the Government has little choice other than to bow to the demands of businesses and opposition politicians and open its doors.
Any other form of testing is logistically impractical and there will undoubtedly be more cases coming into Spain as a result; again, all week the Ministry of Health has been highlighting how many of the "new cases" registered in Spain this week are "imported", a good example being the agricultural workers returning from France highlighted above.
At the end of the day, for many of us living here, the next few weeks will probably be more of a risk than the lockdown period has been, with free movement within Spain and the borders re-opening, so exercising caution in public places and practising stringent hygiene measures when out and about and returning home is probably more important now than ever, so be cautious and sensible.
Spain refuses to open its mainland borders until 1st July
Again, this topic came to a head late on Friday afternoon when the Ministry of Health presented the Friday Covid figures.
This week there has been increasing pressure for the Government to allow foreign tourists to enter the country before the 1st July, particularly from the EU which is keen to bring all member states together and establish a common front. From Monday 15th many other member states are re-opening their borders to other EU member states or Schengen area partners, and as late as Thursday the EU was urging Spain to do the same. From 1st July other EU countries will be opening their borders to non-EU members.
Spain has so far refused to name countries from which it will, or won´t admit travellers on either 1st July or beyond that date, so we are still in the dark about whether it will permit the entry of travellers from countries with higher case rates than its own or not on 1st July. This is of particular concern to UK holidaymakers who still don´t know if they will be allowed to enter Spain or not. It's not a satisfactory situation and the Government has been under a lot of pressure from the tourist sector to clarify its position.
Following the announcement on Friday afternoon we now know that the Government will not budge and is maintaining the date of 1st July for international tourists to enter mainland Spain other than for non-essential travel.
HOWEVER, and there's always a however somewhere in the equation, this is not the same situation for the offshore Canary and Balearic Islands which are now in the "new normal".
Jet2 delays flight restart to July 15th
This week the topic of flights has been most visible on social media where endless posts complaining that flights have been cancelled by various airlines have been made on multiple groups.
Some airlines are maintaining flights in the early part of July, but others are cancelling a lot of flights and it is VERY difficult to gain an accurate picture of where flights are available as the information is changing so rapidly.
This week Jet2 has decided that due to the current Covid situation it will not resume operations until 15th July, and has cancelled any flights and holidays booked for the period between 1st and 14th July.
On its webpage the company is now showing flights for Corvera and Alicante airports as follows;
Corvera:
Flights from Birmingham to Murcia in Septembr
Leeds Bradford to Murcia during August
London Stansted to Murcia in August
Manchester to Murcia during August
Alicante
During July: Edinburgh, Glasgow
During August from Belfast Intl, Birmingham, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, London Stansted, Manchester
During October: Newcastle to Alicante
Readers have quite rightly pointed out that some of them have bookings for flights which are NOT included in the above list and appear at the moment not to have been cancelled, whereas others are confirming that their flights not shown on that list, have indeed been cancelled, so if you have any doubts, contact the airline directly. The company does say it is working through its flights contacting clients individually with their options, and as always, things may change..........
Águilas receives the most Blue Flags for its beaches this summer
Click for the Murcia Beach Guide which contains maps, photos and details for all of the 200 odd beaches, coves and stretches of coastline in the Murcia Region.
The list of beaches and marinas in Spain which have been authorized to fly the prestigious Blue Flag in 2020 was released this week, and once again Águilas can boast of more than any other municipality in the Region of Murcia.
This year 32 Blue Flags will fly over 26 beaches and 6 sporting ports of the Region of Murcia, guaranteeing the quality of the water, its suitability for bathing, security of beach users and full compliance with environmental legislation.
Águilas heads up the regional ranking with 11 awards. Nine of its beaches will fly the Blue Flag; the beaches of playas Las Delicias, Levante, La Colonia, Poniente, Calarreona, Matalentisco, La Higuerica, La Carolina and La Casica Verde, and the sporting ports Club Náutico Águilas and Puerto Deportivo Juan Montiel will also fly the Blue Flag.
For the first time the beach of playa La Chapineta in Cartagena has gained a Blue Flag, adding to the beaches of playas de Cala Cortina, Isla Plana, La Azohía-El Cuartel, Levante-Cabo de Palos and San Ginés.
Mazarrón has Blue Flags on the beaches of el Rihuete, El Puerto, Bahía, Nares, Grande-Castellar, Alamillo, El Mojón and Percheles, and the Club de Regatas and el Puerto Deportivo sporting ports both have Blue Flags as well.
San Pedro del Pinatar maintains its flags for the beaches of playa de El Mojón Marina de las Salinas Sporting port. This year the Las Salinas Visitor Centre is included as a 'Centro Azul'.
Lorca has one flag for the cala de Calnegre and San Javier has one for the playa de La Ensenada del Esparto.
None of the Mar Menor beaches are flying Blue Flags this year due to the all too obvious deterioration in the lagoon again. (see below)
Other articles this week:
Is it legal to apply a Covid charge for a coffee or a cerveza?
During the last few days Spanish social media has been buzzing with debate about a situation which is becoming increasingly common; the application of a “Covid charge” to a bill, particularly in the hostelry sector.Lorca police using drones to control beachgoers in the calas of Punta de Calnegre: Using drones the police detected an illicit awning and sunshades not observing social distancing!
There’s no hiding from the arms of the law these days and Lorca police have taken to the skies to control bathers and ensure that Covid social distancing restrictions are being observed within the beaches of their municipality. In general, the Murcia Region has been fairly relaxed about use of its beaches so far and is doing little more than maintaining observation on its busier beaches at the weekends. Next week, however, that is set to change as the sumemr season approaches and the volume of beach users is likely to increase. Click for full article and link to the Murcia Beach Guide
Court orders regional government to pay landowners for Corvera airport expropriations
The Contentious Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Region of Murcia (TSJRM) has ordered the regional Government to pay 65,240 euros, plus default interest, to a couple who owned 11,000 square metres of land which was expropriated for the construction of the airport of Corvera.
The owners of the land took the regional government to court after failing to receive payment for the land which was forcibly expropriated by the Forced Expropriation Jury in 2011.
This order to pay relates to just this one case, but several claims are pending in the courts from other parties who have still not been paid for their land after waiting for 11 years.
The airport opened in February 2018.
Trials of reflective cold asphalt paving reduce heat in Murcia City between 7ºC and 11ºC
Murcia city is inevitably the hottest place in the Region of Murcia and the sensation of heat in the city is exacerbated by thermic retention in the pavements,streets and buildings of the city.
In February Murcia city council installed a new type of reflective paving in six streets of the city as part of the ‘Life Heatland’ project financed by the European Union, which aims to improve the quality of life for city dwellers through the reduction of environmental temperatures by using new high-reflectance agglomerates - cold asphalt, ‘coolpavement’ - with less solar storage than conventional ones.
24,000 m2 of the reflective asphalt surface were installed in six streets (calle Monte Carmelo, calle Sauce, calle Carmen Conde, calle Valle Inclán, Avenida Pío Baroja and calle Pintor Almela Costa) and a further street was re-paved with traditional asphalt (calle Lope de Rueda) as a control.
After four months, the first results have shown that the average temperature of the reflective surface is between 7ºC and 11ºC lower than that of the conventional asphalt surface. The level of ambient noise in the area is also shown to be an average of 3 dB (A) lower, which would be roughly equivalent to halving the ambient traffic noise.
It is also interesting to note that in the streets with the reflective asphalt installed, the luminance is twice that of the conventional asphalt street, which would make these roads much more visible to drivers and passers-by and, therefore, would reduce the light intensity of public lighting. In addition, the solar reflectance is four times higher, which implies that it absorbs less heat.
The measurements have been taken by the installation of four measurement towers which take readings every 30 minutes for 24 hours a day over a period of two years, measuring pavement surface temperature, air temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar irradiation, lighting level and noise.
The aim is to achieve a decrease in air temperature of 1.5ºC and in the pavement surface of 10ºC, in addition to an energy saving of 7% for cooling devices and 5% for public lighting.
Hailstorm on Monday caused 6 million euros worth of damage
The Campo de Cartagena was the worst affected area
On Monday June 8th heavy storms caused localised flooding along much of the coastline of the Valencia and Murcia Regions, although the rainfall was heaviest in the Alicante and Valencia provinces.
Murcia escaped with just a handful of minor incidents although a heavy hailstorm took the agricultural sector by surprise in the Campo de Cartagena and caused 6 million euros worth of losses for farmers.
The affected area covered 1,083 hectares and on Wednesday the Agrarian Regional Offices of the Ministry of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and the Environment, carried out an initial evaluation of the damage caused.
Most of the losses (around 3.7 million) are in the Campo de Cartagena, followed by 795,000 euros in the outlying farming areas of Murcia City known as the Huerta de Murcia, 685,000 euros in eastern Cartagena, 600,000 in Fuente Álamo and Mazarrón and, to a lesser extent , the Alto Guadalentín and Vega Alta which spread across from the Mazarrón borders into Lorca, Águilas and Totana.
In total, the storms caused losses of 18,630 tons of crops, the majority of them melons and watermelons which are lying in open fields and are either ready to crop or close to cropping. Once the hail has broken into the external rind of the fruit the interior is open to the elements and the fruit rots very quickly, particularly if the weather warms up afterwards as it appears to be doing. Some citrus crops were also damaged, the hail smashing into the young fruit on the lemon and orange trees.
Fortunately the hailstorm missed the areas in which stone fruit crops such as peaches and plums, which are all ready to crop, are grown much to the relief of farmers.
Image: Hailstones gathered by John Leeson of the Murcia Weather Watch group
Property news:
The Mar Menor this week:
This week the Mar Menor has remained in the news as the weather once again highlighted the difficulties in finding long-term solutions to the problems facing the lagoon.
On Monday Aemet issued an orange weather alert, warning of potentially torrential rains in the Campo de Cartagena surrounding the Mar Menor.
Fully aware that on five occasions since September the municipality of Los Alcázares had suffered flooding and beaches had been damaged by the volume of water cascading off the surrounding countryside and pouring into the Mar Menor, the Mayor of the municipality, Mario Pérez Cervera, took the decision to pull back the newly laid sand on beaches ready and waiting for summer tourists to clear a path for the waters which could potentially strip it away, municipal services pushing the sand away from the locations through which rainwater normally flows to clear a path down to the shore, “this way we can reposition the sand afterwards so it isn´t washed down into the lagoon, “he explained.
His foresight was rewarded when once again the principal streets flowed muddy brown on Monday and thousands of litres of water poured into the lagoon; fortunately the job for municipal services on Wednesday was patching up holes in the beaches of Los Narejos and repositioning sand rather than laying a whole new beach of fresh sand once again.
However, the force of the water running down into the town lifted manhole covers as the storm tank overflowed due principally to the fact that the pump which is supposed to be pumping water up to the processing plant has never actually worked since it was installed over three years ago.
The final stretch of the rambla de las Pescaderías was taped off midway through the morning to enable the resulting water to flow down to the Mar Menor off the streets.
The Mayor was so enraged by the situation that he recorded a video to post on social networks, “we are sick and tired of having to tape up our doors every time it rains”, he said.
Following the rain he once again reiterated his call for the Costas department of the national government to install artificial bathing platforms until the problems of water run-off are resolved long-term, rather than continue to spread new sand, as every time it rains heavily this is washed down into the lagoon and has to be replaced; it also contributes to a gradual silting up of the lagoon.
Long-term plans to reduce the flow of water into the municipality have been prepared, but as with most of the issues facing the lagoon the complicated situation relating to the competence (and who will pay) for the various actions required means that this is a long-winded process.
One part of the proposals included within the 'Solutions for expansion of D7 drainage capacity and flow relief in the surroundings of the municipality of Los Alcázares,' project of the CHS which has a total cost of 17,296,624 euros is to increase the capacity of what is referred to as “drainage channel D7” .
Drainage channel D7 is four kilometres long, was built by the CHS, and disgorges into the rambla del Albujón, so although it still carries water to the Mar Menor, it helps to alleviate the pressure on Los Alcázares urban town by taking it to the side of the main urban area, not through the centre of it.
This part of the project is budgeted at 2.5 million euros, and would increase the capacity of this channel from 19 cubic meters per second to over 60 and would help to alleviate the flow towards the town at a point where three drainage channels converge outside of the urban area of the town near to the AP-7.
Drainage channels habitually carry silt and mud during heavy rain and where three such channels converge by the AP-7 a “dam effect” overwhelms the existing structure and floods agricultural fields alongside the motorway, gathering more silt and causing flooding in the town centre as the floodwaters find a different route into the town. The first part of the project requires a 2.5 million euro investment and the Mayor has said this week that he has again urged the CHS to achieve the necessary licences and begin work on this first part of the project. Encouraging noises have, he said, been heard in response.
The overall project is complicated because it requires expropriations of many parcels of privately owned land and the involvement of several different bodies.
The second part of the water relief efforts in the municipality this week relate to the Military Base of Los Alcázares. During the September 2019 Gota Fría the Military Emergencies Unit demolished the perimeter wall of the base in order to facilitate the flow of water away from the town. This week the council reports that the replacement wall will include a 3 metre wide perimeter channel linking to the “Parque de Bomberos” firecrew installation, with increased overflow run-offs to alleviate the pressure should there be a repeat of the 2019 Gota Fría, and will be built to help evacuate water from the town and avoid its accumulation. Discussions are still underway with the military about reducing the visual impact of the new wall.
Regional Assembly Commission
The Mayor was also asked for his opinion on problems relating to the Mar Menor by the Regional Assembly Comisión de Política Territorial, Medio Ambiente, Agricultura y Agua commission.
He took the opportunity to present his opinion that usage of water from the vast natural aquifer beneath the campo de Cartagena should be better controlled and regulated, with severe penalties for those who abused it. He also said that the “most important contamination of the Mar Menor” wasn´t visible to the naked eye as it was within the aquifer below ground, which was heavily contaminated by agricultural nitrates which had leached into the soil and filtered down into the natural water storage below. He criticised that water containing nitrates was being allowed to flow down into the Mar Menor on a continuous basis and was flooding the town centre when it could be used by the agricultural sector instead of pumping subterranean water from illegal wells.(see below for more on illegal wells)
He also proposed that the Mar Menor be granted its own judicial jurisdiction and proposed a construction moratorium around the lagoon to relieve urban pressure on the environment.
Protests against “inaction of the administration”
On Tuesday around 150 people protested on the “Region of Murcia day” bank holiday in front of the regional Government headquarters in the Palacio de san Esteban in the centre of Murcia capital about the “inaction” of the regional Government regarding the Mar Menor.
No Blue Flags
On Tuesday the annual Blue Flags of quality were announced and for the fourth year running the Mar Menor received no flags due to the ongoing issues of the lagoon.
Beach cleaning programme extended by regional government
It is quite unusual for heavy rain to fall this late in the spring and certainly wasn´t anticipated when the regional government sent in teams of cleaners to remove algal growth from the beaches surrounding the lagoon.
The 90 strong team of workers were only contracted for 15 days and began work on 27th May so their contracts were due to expire this week but following the storm the regional government has decided to extend the cleaning programme further.
No details of how much longer the teams will be working was actually given at the appearance of the Director General of the Mar Menor, Miriam Pérez, on the playa de La Ribera, in San Javier, to announce that the work would be prolonged.
The press release put out when the first workers appeared had indicated that a larger contract was being negotiated, but no further announcements have since been made about this subject.
Regional government plan to eliminate 940 hectares of illegal irrigation within the next 9 months
A little background to explain this situation.
Part of the problems currently experienced by the Mar Menor relate to the problem of nitrates from agricultural fertilisers having leached into the soil, which then find their way into the Mar Menor through rainwater run-off and agricultural water run-off. Historically, only dry crops were grown in Murcia but the installation of the Tajo- Segura Trasvase network which carried water down to Murcia from central Spain via a vast canal network, totally changed the situation, enabling agriculturalists to grow crops using irrigation systems.
Over the years farmers also bored hundreds of illegal wells to tap into the vast aquifer of water which lies beneath the countryside surrounding the Mar Menor containing salty water which is subsequently cleaned for agricultural use using illegally built desalination plants.
Logically, there should have been better vigilance to control these illegal extractions but a blind eye was turned to the illegal activities by not only the CHS which should have prevented it, but also regional and local authorities who all knew it was happening but did nothing about it.
Now that the Mar Menor has become a “political hot potato” following the eutrophication which turned it green in 2016, this is finally being sorted out.
Part of it is being examined as a criminal investigation currently being undertaken by the Court of Instruction number 2 in Murcia, by magistrate Ángel Garrote, brought by the Guardia Civíl, which is generally referred to as the 'Topillo case'.
In these proceedings more than a hundred agricultural companies and farmers from the Campo de Cartagena area are suspected of having contributed to the degradation of the Mar Menor through the illegal use of clandestine desalination plants and wells installed in agricultural farms, extracting water illegally from the aquifer below the campo de Cartagena, treating it to remove sufficient salt so that it could be used for irrigation, after which the brackish residual waste generated was dumped back into the aquifer or directly into the Rambla del Albujón and on into the Mar Menor.
The resulting “clean” water was enriched with nitrate fertilisers, used to irrigate crops and leeched into the soil.
This week the regional government has announced that it intends to eliminate 940 hectares of these illegally installed wells and irrigation structures by the end of March 2021.
The CHS confirmed that those farming the parcels had no right to drill wells to extract and process saline water from the huge aquifer which lies below the Campo de Cartagena, desalinate it and use it for irrigation, clearing the way for the regional government to insist that the parcels be returned to their original condition.
14 of these, covering 175 hectares, correspond to zone 1, located from the AP7 and in towards the coast, 50 of them coming under the jurisdiction of the Mar Menor decree and the remaining 36 parcels covering 764 hectares are in zone 2.
Some of the farmers have now been notified officially that they must start to dismantle their infrastructures and the rather long-winded process of doing so has been initiated for the remainder.
The owners must now return these lands to their original state and dismantle any infrastructures for which they lack documentation.
Each Farmer now being given this formal documentation has 2 weeks in which to present his plans, 30 further days in which to begin the work and a further 6 months in which to complete it. Every subsequent month of delay will result in a fine for 10% of the cost for the regional government itself to undertake the works.The agricultural concerns are also facing criminal charges in the Topillo case mentioned above.
Closing the net around those who have collaborated in the construction of the illegal desalination plants
At the end of last week it was reported that the Guardia Civíl is tightening the net around one of the companies believed to have played a key part in the construction and management of the illegal structures, Insal Electricidad y Automatismos SL based in Balsicas.
This company was first investigated in 2016 and was requested to hand over any documentation relating to the construction and management of the illegal structures, initially supplying information about twelve companies with which it had worked.
Suspecting that it was concealing information, further proceedings were initiated to force the company to reveal the full extent of its activities, and in 2018 a warrant was obtained to carry out an exhaustive search of varios premises which revealed that the company was either working with or had worked with, 131 different agricultural concerns, amongst them the largest in the area.
Just one of these companies farmed hundreds of hectares, and the court has worked out that over a five year period, this one company alone extracted and cleaned so much water that the salty waste brine generated from its activities and thrown away, would have filled 767 Olympic sized swimming pools.
Last week a report from the Nature Protection Service (Seprona) of the Civil Guard, was incorporated into the Topillo investigation indicating that the company "is directly responsible for the manufacture, installation, sale, maintenance, repair and supply of all the materials and consumables necessary for the desalination plants of the different companies that own or rent the farms" which are also part of the investigation.
Hopefully justice will be done.
Thank you for your support. Have a good week!
Cartagena
El Carmoli
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Manga del Mar Menor
La Puebla
La Torre Golf Resort
La Union
Los Alcazares
Los Belones
Los Nietos
Los Urrutias
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Pilar de la Horadada
Playa Honda / Playa Paraiso
Portman
Roldan and Lo Ferro
San Javier
San Pedro del Pinatar
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
Torre Pacheco
Aledo
Alhama de Murcia
Bolnuevo
Condado de Alhama
Fuente Alamo
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Lorca
Mazarron
Puerto de Mazarron
Puerto Lumbreras
Sierra Espuna
Totana
Abanilla
Alcantarilla
Archena
Blanca
Corvera
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Lorqui
Molina de Segura
Murcia City
Peraleja Golf Resort
Ricote
Sucina
Condado de Alhama
El Valle Golf Resort
Hacienda del Alamo Golf Resort
Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort
Islas Menores and Mar de Cristal
La Manga Club
La Torre Golf Resort
Mar Menor Golf Resort
Mazarron Country Club
Peraleja Golf Resort
Terrazas de la Torre Golf Resort
AFS WindfoilsCartagena SpainCoronavirusCorvera Airport MurciaMurcia Gota Fria 2019Murcia propertyParamount Theme Park MurciaWeekly Bulletin
