IROX claims that the state of Xàbia’s sewage plant is “Third World”
“A population with approximately 27,000 inhabitants does not have a sufficient sewage network for itself, let alone more than 100,000 inhabitants in summer.”
Wednesday 10th August 2022 · Mike Smith
Source: XAD (Álvaro Monfort)
The Institute for the Oceanographic Research of Xàbia (IROX) has called on the public “not to settle for the absurd explanations they give us” and urges the population to “demand solutions“. It does so with respect to the problem surrounding the discharge of treated water – which is neither drinkable nor suitable for reuse – into the waters of the municipality, one of the entity’s workhorses that has always demanded a complete and consistent water service to the volume of a municipality like Xàbia and its uses and needs.
The IROX statement said that “Perhaps it is time for the authorities to consider a change in the municipal model, to ensure the protection of the territory and an economy that is more respectful of the environment in which we live and not leave the current economic model in the hands of property developers and the unbridled tourism. If we do not have the capacity to guarantee infrastructures in line with the population level, we cannot continue to accept an indiscriminate increase in visitors to whom we cannot guarantee the conditions of a modern society and not this shameful aberrant situation.”
Regarding the transparency “of which they talk so much, but do not practice” of the discharge analytics, IROX has also responded harshly: “We have requested them for years and not only have we not obtained them, but we have found ourselves a system distributed among several administrations that makes it almost impossible to clarify anything”.
IROX emphasize the continuous request they have made “to regulate discharges from treatment plants and a third-world system of sewage that flows into our sea.” It points to the state of the service as one of the problems and puts Xàbia as an example: “A population with approximately 27,000 inhabitants does not have a sufficient sewage network for itself, let alone more than 100,000 inhabitants in summer“, adding that “of course, the authorities do not stop going to tourism fairs so that more come, which is a scam for both the resident population and the visitor“.
IROX has listed a series of demands that need to be addressed by the administration:
- They require analytics in the outlet manholes of the sewage treatment plants to know the quality of the spilled water and control all the spills that the public network throws into the sea.
- To review the documents of the Q, documents that collect the public situation of the purge based on what is sent to Europe.
- To collect all the public bathing water results carried out by the ministry and which are public on the Náyade website (Bathing water information system).
- To publish the analytics carried out by the City Council on the beach.
- To publish the results of the hydrological plans and the purification measures included in the area.
- For Xàbia Council and the Generalitat Valenciana to provide a history of works.
- To require all villas to have a waste disposal system compatible with the environment, with effective control by the administration, denying authorizations to constructions that do not have it.
IROX has been blunt in the face of recent events. “The vast majority of society agrees and when the majority wants something, democracy makes it possible and if it is not done, those responsible should resign.” It added that “the first obligation of politicians is to improve the quality of life of their population and if they do not do so, they do not deserve the support that they have been given“.
