4 Feb, 2025 @ 18:20
1 min read
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Benidorm faces wet wipe crisis after pulling out 300 tonnes of ‘monster’ blockages in a year

Benidorm faces wet wipe crisis after pulling out 300 tonnes of ‘monster’ blockages in a year

300 TONNES of wet wipes were flushed down Benidorm toilets last year causing €400,000 of repairs to pumping and treatment plants.

The problem is becoming increasingly serious with wipes accounting for 90% of solids intercepted in local wastewater.

A breakdown a few months ago at the Severo Ochoa pumping station caused staff to spend days unblocking pipes full of thousands of hygienic wipes.

READ MORE:

WIPE MOUNTAIN AT BENIDORM TREATMENT PLANT

Benidorm City Council and water company Hidraqua have now joined forces in a campaign to get people to change their wipe disposal habits.

The city’s water cycle councillor, Jose Ramon Gonzalez, said: “Dumping wipes down toilets causes significant problems and breakdowns in the sewerage network with a high environmental and economic cost.”

The campaign is called ‘Stop wipes from being news’ and also hopes to hammer home the message to tourists with billboards and display screens carrying the slogan.

Hidraqua’s regional manager, Ciriaco Clemente, said: “Treatment plants do their job in catching wipes during dry weather, but at a high cost.”

“Unfortunately during heavy rain, our protection system might not cope, with the wipes ending up being pumped onto the coast and into the sea,” he added.

“The best way to solve the problem is citizen awareness and collaboration in something that affects us all, environmentally and economically,” Clemente concluded.

Alex Trelinski

Alex worked for 30 years for the BBC as a presenter, producer and manager. He covered a variety of areas specialising in sport, news and politics. After moving to the Costa Blanca over a decade ago, he edited a newspaper for 5 years and worked on local radio.

1 Comment

  1. On the resort in which I live, we had a similar problem some years ago. However, it was not wipes that was the cause. It was sanitary towels.
    I wonder if this is the case in Benidorm?
    A responsible major Spanish supermarket sells wet wipes which are labelled as being disposable.

    Location : Torre Pacheco

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