Costa del Sol to create a dedicated commission to monitor seawater quality and prevent beach closures

Water quality along Málaga’s beaches will now be subject to an additional level of coordination. After a summer in which several stretches of coastline had to temporarily restrict or ban bathing, the Andalusian Regional Government and a number of coastal councils have agreed to create a specific commission to monitor and control bathing water quality.

The aim is not to replace the health inspections already carried out during the bathing season, but to improve coordination between the different bodies involved when an incident occurs: public health departments, local councils, beach managers, sanitation authorities and public water companies.

The new commission has a practical goal: to share information more quickly, identify the source of possible contamination and take preventive measures before an incident results in a prolonged beach closure.

Málaga, Marbella, Mijas, Fuengirola, Benalmádena and Torremolinos take part

The creation of the new body was discussed at a meeting chaired by the Andalusian Government’s delegate in Málaga, Patricia Navarro.

Representatives from Málaga, Benalmádena, Torremolinos, Marbella, Mijas and Fuengirola attended, together with officials from the regional departments responsible for Health, Agriculture and Water, and Sustainability and the Environment.

Also taking part were Acosol, which manages much of the integrated water cycle in the western Costa del Sol, and Emasa, Málaga city’s municipal water company.

The aim is to establish continuous communication between organisations that were already involved in responding to incidents, but often from different administrative areas.

The commission will meet every two months

One of the main changes will be the introduction of regular coordination.

The commission is expected to hold meetings every two months to review the state of bathing waters and consider measures in the short, medium and long term.

It will also examine current protocols to identify where response times can be improved when health tests detect a potential problem.

The Regional Government believes that sharing information more efficiently will make it easier to determine the cause of a contamination episode and decide what action is needed, whether that means increasing testing, tracing a discharge or introducing temporary restrictions.

What happens when contamination is detected?

The new commission is not starting from scratch. Andalusia already has a Bathing Water Health Surveillance Programme, which operates during the official bathing season from 1 June to 30 September.

During this period, visual inspections are carried out and water samples are collected from different points along the coast to assess sanitary conditions.

Among the main microbiological indicators are Escherichia coli (E. coli) and intestinal enterococci, two parameters used to determine whether there is a potential health risk for swimmers.

When tests detect unusual levels, health authorities can increase the frequency of sampling until conditions return to acceptable levels.

The results are then communicated to the relevant municipality, which may advise against bathing temporarily or prohibit it altogether until new tests confirm that the water is safe again.

A summer marked by several beach closures

The decision to improve coordination follows a season in which several incidents affected the Málaga coastline.

One of the most significant periods came in mid-August, when a number of beaches in Málaga city and Benalmádena introduced restrictions at the same time after water quality problems were detected.

Among the beaches affected during different incidents were Campo de Golf, El Palo, Guadalmar, Sacaba and San Andrés in Málaga, as well as Bil Bil-Arroyo de la Miel and Malapesquera-Santa Ana in Benalmádena. Other parts of the province were also affected later in the summer.

Not every closure had the same cause. In some cases, water quality deteriorated following rainfall; in others, microbiological tests detected levels that required precautionary action while further samples were analysed.

One of the aims of the new commission is therefore to better distinguish between the causes of each incident, rather than treating all pollution episodes in the same way.

Rain can also affect bathing water quality

A temporary bathing ban is often immediately associated with a direct sewage discharge, but the situation can be more complex.

Heavy rainfall can wash pollutants from streets and drainage systems into the sea, increase pressure on sanitation infrastructure and temporarily affect microbiological levels along the coast.

That is why post-rainfall monitoring is particularly important and why the authorities want to improve information sharing between beach managers, sanitation services and public health bodies.

The Regional Government also wants the new commission to help identify recurring problems and seek structural solutions, rather than only reacting when an emergency occurs.

Sanitation remains the long-term challenge

Monitoring can detect contamination more quickly, but preventing it from happening also requires investment in infrastructure.

The Andalusian Government has planned 75 sanitation and wastewater treatment projects in Málaga province.

According to figures released when the new commission was announced, six projects had already been completed with a combined investment of €29.6 million, another eleven were under way with €137 million mobilised, and six further projects were awaiting tender with another €25.8 million allocated.

The largest project is the future Integrated Sanitation System for the Costa del Sol, whose preliminary design is currently being prepared.

The scheme would affect Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Mijas, Fuengirola, Marbella, Ojén, Istán, Benahavís, Manilva and Casares, with an estimated investment of around €1.3 billion.

Its funding and execution will still need to be agreed between the Spanish Government, the Andalusian Regional Government and the Association of Municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol.

What changes for beachgoers?

For residents and visitors, the creation of the commission does not mean that red flags or bathing bans will disappear whenever there is a health risk.

In fact, temporary beach closures will remain necessary whenever test results show that conditions are unsafe.

What should improve is everything that happens before and afterwards: detecting the problem, sharing the results, identifying the cause, deciding what action to take and carrying out repeat testing quickly enough to reopen the beach once conditions are safe again.

During the bathing season, the Andalusian Government also publishes updated information on water quality, including sampling points, microbiological indicators and the suitability of each bathing area.

A health, environmental and tourism issue

Maintaining good water quality is clearly a public health issue, but on the Costa del Sol it also has major economic importance.

Beaches remain one of Málaga’s main tourism assets, so a closure during peak season can affect not only swimmers but also nearby hotels, restaurants and other local businesses.

The new commission therefore aims to work on two levels: responding more quickly to individual incidents while also planning long-term improvements to sanitation infrastructure to reduce the risk of future problems.

Its effectiveness will now depend on whether those regular meetings lead to shared protocols, faster information exchange and investment capable of addressing the underlying causes.