Sewage leak closes Can Picafort beach

A stretch of the beach at Can Picafort was closed yesterday after a fault in one of the pumps at the sewage treatment plant caused a leakage of sewage into the sea near a popular area of the beach. The alarm was raised at 1pm yesterday afternoon by the Red Cross who reported the seepage from a sewage pipe near the Gran Bahia Hotel to the Local Police. The Guardia Civil nature protection squad was informed and Seprona ordered that the area of beach be closed in order to prevent bathers suffering posible intoxication. The Seprona representative in the area said at the scene that an alternative sewage system will be installed in order to prevent such leaks, which are apparently regular, happening in the future. The system that failed is meant to prevent sewage from leaking when the pipes are full, but yesterday, the pump failed and the sewage spilled in to the sea. Seprona said such incidents are far too frequent around Majorca's coast and systems need to be revised. One of the Can Picafort councillors blamed poor maintenance for the fault and said that the council will be contacting the sewage treatment company on Monday for a full explanation.