Flood of raw sewage swamps Costa Blanca holiday resort and leaves sunbathers fleeing foul stench caused by 12,000 gallons of human waste
- Estimated 12k gallons of sewage used to water crops lost during peak summer
- Seafront deserted in smelliest and flooded areas with drivers splashing puddles
- Council plugged the route with sand to stop the sludge reaching a prized beach
- They kept it open because they said the waste didn’t reach the sunbathers
- Others thought the beachgoers left due to the vile stench on the pristine resort
Thousands of gallons of raw sewage flooded a Costa Blanca holiday resort yesterday.
The sewage crossed the main road running along the coast before spilling into the streets of La Zenia south of Alicante and reaching a beach awarded a ‘blue-flag’ for its high environmental standards.
Town hall workers using a digger created an emergency dike using sand from the beach to try to stop the sewage flow.
Around 12 gallons of sewage are thought to have been lost in the peak holiday season drama, blamed on a broken pipe at a plant near Zenia Boulevard shopping centre.
Council workers tried to stop the waste water from reaching the prized blue-flag Cala Bosque which is one of 11 blue-flag beaches, prized for their commitment to environmental standards. Spain is the leading European country for its number of blue-flag beaches with 578
Over 56,000 litres of raw sewage spilled out on to the streets of Costa Blanca at 2pm yesterday in a place heavily populated by British and Irish expats and holidaygoers. The seafront was deserted with pedestrians having to dodge the splashes from the road
The sewage started spilling out on to the streets around 2pm on Thursday and took several hours to resolve.
Footage taken by shocked holidaymakers and expats in the area, where there is a huge British and Irish population, showed cars slowing as they hit large puddles of sewage water on the main road and pedestrians trying to keep their distance as they walked along the pavement to avoid being splashed.
A tourist was also pictured on a bike cycling through a puddle of sewage water nearer the beach.
The seafront promenade was left deserted in the worst affected areas as council workers banked up sand to try to stop it reaching the sea at Cala Bosque, one of 11 blue-flagged beaches in the Orihuela Costa area which La Zenia forms part of.
Cars are seen driving through the street in Costa Blanca after a pipe used to transport sewage water to feed crops burst at the popular holiday destination
Council chiefs said they had decided not to close the beach because the sewage did not reach the sea, although some locals and holidaymakers are thought to have decided to pack up their belongings and move on because of the bad smell.
The pipe that broke takes semi-treated sewage to an area where it is used for watering crops.
Councillor Angel Noguera said: ‘Only a small amount reached the beach but because the beach is so big, it didn’t reach the area where people were sunbathing.’
An emergency meeting has now been called with the managers of the sewage plant to make sure a repeat situation is avoided.