Santa Cruz de Tenerife is seeking to recover Blue Flag status for several areas of its coastline in 2027, 24 years after the municipality lost the distinction following a wastewater discharge in Cabo Llanos.
The City Council has formally asked the Association for Environmental and Consumer Education (Adeac), the body responsible for the Blue Flag programme in Spain, to carry out an on-site assessment of the improvements made in recent years, particularly in relation to sanitation and wastewater management.
The request was sent yesterday in a letter signed by Carlos Tarife, Deputy Mayor and Councillor for Strategic Planning, Environmental Sustainability and Public Services. In it, the council asks Adeac to send a committee to the capital to examine the measures implemented over the last four years and to evaluate whether certain coastal areas could once again be considered for the award.
According to the City Council, Santa Cruz has made significant progress in reducing discharges into the sea and improving sanitation infrastructure across the municipality. However, one key issue remains unresolved: the discharge point at Cabo Llanos, which the council identifies as the main obstacle preventing the capital from moving towards its objective of “zero discharge into the sea”.
Delays in a national project
The Cabo Llanos discharge was the reason Santa Cruz lost its Blue Flag in 2003. The council argues that, although improvements have been made since then, the definitive solution depends on the expansion of the Buenos Aires wastewater treatment plant.
That project was awarded in 2017 and is being promoted and carried out by Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition. It was initially expected to be completed in 2022 and was intended to put an end to the discharge of treated wastewater into the sea at Cabo Llanos.
However, the works have suffered successive delays, and the current completion date has been pushed back to 2028. Tarife acknowledges in the letter that the amount of treated water currently reaching the sea from this point has been reduced, but says the reduction remains “insufficient”.
The City Council has repeatedly expressed its dissatisfaction with the delays affecting the project, which it considers essential for resolving the last major discharge into the sea in the municipality.
€15.7 million investment in coastal sanitation
Despite the pending issue at Cabo Llanos, the council argues that the work carried out in other parts of Santa Cruz should be taken into account when assessing the city’s eligibility for the Blue Flag.
Between February 2022 and September 2026, the municipality estimates that €15.7 million will have been invested in coastal sanitation improvements.
Among the projects highlighted by the City Council are the Igueste de San Andrés wastewater treatment plant, with an investment of €1.7 million; the Tachero treatment plant in Taganana, with €3.5 million; the removal of a sewer in San Andrés, with €2.8 million; and the pumping stations in Añaza, Acorán and Los Alisios, which together represent an investment of €7.7 million.
The council is asking Adeac to evaluate these works as part of a broader assessment of the municipality’s progress, rather than focusing exclusively on the unresolved discharge at Cabo Llanos.
Possible Blue Flag candidates for 2027
The areas Santa Cruz wants Adeac to assess include Anaga, Las Teresitas, Los Charcos and Añaza.
The council’s objective is for some of these coastal locations to be considered candidates for the Blue Flag in 2027, provided that the improvements made in sanitation, wastewater treatment and environmental management are deemed sufficient.
In its letter, the City Council also asks Adeac to visit the municipality to inspect the works directly, learn about wastewater reuse and assess the investment effort made over the last four years.
Tarife argues that the accumulated delays in the Buenos Aires treatment plant project should not prevent the rest of the municipality’s progress from being recognised. For that reason, the council is requesting a comprehensive evaluation of Santa Cruz’s current situation before any decision is made on whether the capital can recover the Blue Flag.
The final decision will depend on Adeac’s assessment, but Santa Cruz is now formally seeking to return to the Blue Flag programme more than two decades after losing the distinction.
