The Balearic environment ministry is urging Pollensa town hall to fix "deficiencies identified in four pipes that discharge into the sea" and is recommending a temporary ban on bathing in the Albercuix area of Puerto Pollensa.
The notice from the ministry was sent on Tuesday. It was in response to analysis of three samples at the Albercuix beach that were taken on September 29 by ministry of health technicians. These exceeded the permitted levels of E. coli.
The town hall has responded by listing various actions taken, including the raising of the yellow flag on the beach. The administration of Tomeu Cifre insists that inspections by the technical maintenance service have not detected spills from the sewage network and points to the weather as a possible cause. On the day the samples were taken there was brief but heavy rain.
The ministry and the town hall have been blaming each other for months for the discharges into the sea. An ongoing problem, especially at the Albercuix beach, the town hall has commissioned the IMEDEA Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies to report on improving water quality in Pollensa bay, while the various stakeholders, including businesses, are now meeting to discuss the problem.