There is blue flags the black flags, which recognize the excellence of a beach, as well as black flags to warn about the dangers and mismanagement of the Spanish coastline. This year 2024, the organization Ecologistas en Acción has issued its annual report on black flag beaches that show poor management and pollution in their waters.
In the Valencian coast, there are 6 points that ecologists point out as “polluted” or “affected” by poor planning and management of natural resources. Specifically, Ecologists in Action points in its report to these 6 Zones of the coast of Alicante, Valencia and Castellón
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- Amerador ravine and beach (Alacant): contamination by fecal discharges from the pumping station due to saturation and lack of maintenance.
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- Bay of Alicante (4 beaches) (Alacant): contamination by urban waste and untreated water due to poor maintenance and deficiencies in the channeling and outfall systems.
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- Coastal area of the Natura 2000 Network: the Posidonia meadow (Valencia): contamination of marine waters and lack of water transparency, preventing the survival of the Posidonia oceanica meadow.
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- Coastal stretch of Grao-Camino Serratella (Castelló): contamination due to a mixture of sewage and wastewater due to the lack of maintenance and modernization of the drainage networks.
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- L’Estany-Capicorb beach (Castelló): mismanagement due to the declaration of a dog beach in a protected wetland, affecting the nesting of protected birds and the integrity of the ecosystem.
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- Massive sand filling in the Parc Natural de l’Albufera (Valencia): poor management due to the beach regeneration policy based on building dikes and breakwaters and filling beaches with sand extracted from miles away, without addressing the causes of beach retreat.