UPDATE: Elche’s popular tourist Carabassi beach closed for a second day due to contamination

UPDATE: Elche's popular tourist Carabassi beach closed for a second day due to contamination

UPDATE: Elche's popular tourist Carabassi beach closed for a second day due to contamination. Image: Adriana Iacob/Shutterstock.com

ELCHE’S popular tourist Carabassi beach remains closed for a second day after a sewage spillage contaminated the water.

UPDATE 12.46 pm (August 19) – The Carabassi beach in Elche remains closed for bathing on Friday, August 19 due to the faecal spillage that occurred on Thursday, August 18.

The General Directorate of Water of the Generalitat took more samples to obtain the pollution levels, however, the results are not due back until later today.

The closure affects the section between walkways 1 and 2, although access to the sand and the beach bars in the area is permitted.

The red flag has been raised on the beach.

Elche’s Councillor María José Martínez said on Thursday, August 18 that it was a “short-lived” episode and that the Town Hall hoped that the Carabassi beach would reopen for bathing this weekend.

“We regret the immediate closure and we will try to find out as soon as possible the origin of the problem so that it can be reopened soon,” she said at the time.

According to Informacion, the Entidad Pública de Saneamiento de Aguas (EPSAR) said that Martínez’s assessment on August 18, where she said that the faecal spill could have been the result of a discharge from the Santa Pola treatment plant, was not correct.

The EPSAR management said that the enclosed bathing area has no housing or sewage system and that the pumping stations in the area (Gran Alacant I and II) are not located nearby and there has been no incident to lead them to believe it is the cause of the problem.


ORIGINAL 12.53 pm (August 18) – Elche police and Elche council issued a warning on Thursday, August 18 that the Carabassi beach “will remain temporarily closed from today due to the detection of short-lived contamination in the bathing area.”

Elche Local Police are monitoring the situation at the popular Carabassi beach, which is located in the tourist hotspot of Gran Alacant, while health authorities are working so that the area can be reopened to bathing as soon as possible.

The Carabassi beach between walkways 1 and 2 is CLOSED to bathing due to the detection of a short-term contamination period,” Elche police wrote on Twitter.

“The measure will be maintained until the regional services confirm values consistent with water quality suitable for bathing.”

According to early reports, it appears that a faecal spill from the toilets may have led to the beach and waters being contaminated.

“We regret the immediate closure of the beach and we will try to find out the origin as soon as possible so that it will reopen soon,” Elche’s Councillor María José Martínez said on Thursday, August 18.

Informacion reported that Martínez believed that the faecal spill could have been the result of a discharge from the Santa Pola treatment plant.

Recently, the beaches of Arenales del Sol and Carabassi had their footbaths fixed after several complaints from residents that they hadn’t been working for some time.

Both beaches have experienced a huge surge in tourists from May onwards, however, Elche’s mayor of Tourism of Elche, Carles Molina, said at the time that “the summer bathing season doesn’t start until July 1.”

Her comment angered a lot of local residents and tourists who felt that the footbaths should have been fixed in the easter holidays when the beaches started getting busier.


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Written by

Matthew Roscoe

Originally from the UK, Matthew is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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