WRITTEN QUESTION E-2619/00

by Laura González Álvarez (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(1 August 2000)

Subject: Pollution in the Natural Park of Lagunas de Ruidera (Castilla La Mancha, Spain) caused by urban waste water

A recent visit to the Natural Park of Lagunas de Ruidera (Castilla La Mancha, Spain) showed that urban waste water from the main housing areas in the municipal districts of Ruidera (Ciudad Real) and Ossa de Montiel (Albacete) is being discharged virtually untreated into the surface water of the lagoon, causing pollution which can be clearly identified from foul-smelling mud.

Local residents report that they have been calling for the construction of a sewer to collect waste water from the towns and the large number of holiday homes scattered throughout the natural park and channel it to a suitable treatment plant for more than 20 years.

This situation appears to be in breach of Council Directive 91/271/EEC(1) of 21 May 1991 on the treatment of urban waste water.

Bearing in mind the ecological interest of the natural park itself and the fact that the area concerned is the catchment area of the Guadiana river, and taking account of the harmful effects which pollution in this area will have for the large number of users of water from this river all along its course, the situation may also be in breach

of Council Directive 92/43/EEC(2) of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of the natural habitats of wild fauna and flora, of Council Directive 98/83/EC(3) of 3 November 1998 on the quality of water for human consumption and Council Directive 76/160/EEC(4) of 8 December 1975 on the quality of bathing water.

What action will the Commission take to ensure compliance with these directives with regard to the treatment of urban waste water in the Natural Park of Lagunas de Ruidera?

What steps can the Commission take to fulfil the demands made by local residents for the construction of a sewer and a treatment plant of sufficient capacity to meet the conservation needs of the natural park and ensure the quality of water in the catchment area of the Guadiana river?

(1) OJ L 135, 30.5.1991, p. 40.

(2) OJ L 206, 22.7.1992, p. 7.

(3) OJ L 330, 5.12.1998, p. 32.

(4) OJ L 31, 5.2.1976, p. 1.

Answer given by Mrs Wallström on behalf of the Commission

(4 October 2000)

Under Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 on urban waste-water treatment Member States must ensure that all agglomerations of more than 2 000 p.e. (population equivalent, a unit of measurement representing the average amount of organic pollution produced per person per day) are provided with urban waste-water collecting and treatment systems by 31 December 1998, 31 December 2000 or 31 December 2005, depending on the size of the agglomeration and the sensitivity of the receiving waters. When systems are designed, the size of the agglomeration to be taken into account must include not only the load from the residential population but also the load from the seasonal population and the industrial waste-water load fed into the urban system.

The Commission has information indicating that the agglomerations mentioned by the Honourable Member i.e. those situated in the communes of Ruidera (Ciudad Real) and Ossa de Montiel (Albacete) are of less than 15 000 p.e. If they are of are more than 2 000 p.e. they have until 31 December 2005 to meet the requirements concerning the collection and secondary (i.e. biological) treatment of their waste waters. In due time the Commission will check the situation as regards compliance with the deadline for each agglomeration concerned.

With regard to the quality of bathing water, the Commission's annual reports show that two bathing areas in the Ciudad Real area have not conformed to the requirements of Directive 76/160/EEC for three years and that in five bathing areas in the Albacete area the water quality varies considerably from year to year. In 1998 the Court of Justice condemned Spain for the poor quality of its freshwater bathing areas(1). At the beginning of this year proceedings were initiated under Article 228 (ex Article 171) of the EC Treaty.

With regard to the Directive on the quality of water intended for human consumption, we would point out that Directive 80/778/EEC(2) still applies, as the deadline for compliance with new Directive 98/83/EC is at the end of 2003. The Commission does not have any information suggesting that the provisions of the Directive concerned might not have been complied with.

The Commission confirms that the Lagunas de Ruidera natural park has been proposed by Spain as a site of Community importance for inclusion in the Natura 2000 network, under Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. On the basis of the information supplied by the Honourable Member, it cannot say that the Directive has not been correctly applied in this case.

(1) Judgment of 12 February 1998 in case C-96/092.

(2) OJ L 229, 30.8.1980.