WRITTEN QUESTION E-1906/98

by María Sornosa Martínez (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(16 June 1998)

Subject: Dumping of waste water in the river Segura

In Written Question E-2683/97(1) I raised the matter of the health problems of the inhabitants of the areas adjoining the river Segura, including Orihuela, Vega Baja, Murcia and Guardamar, arising from the deterioration of its waters.

At that time, there was a written agreement that the four purifying plants provided for in the drainage plan of the Valencia region and approved during the previous legislative term would be operational in 1997. These plants have not been constructed, and the delay means that 40 % of the urban arras of the Vega Baja district are still dumping their sewage in the river. In addition, the entire population of the city of Murcia (345 000 inhabitants) is also still dumping its unpurified sewage in the river. The project of constructing a purifying plant for Murcia (to the sum of Ptas 3 774 million) was included in the national plan for drainage and purification of sewage, as a project of general interest.

In view of this situation:

1. Does the Commission not consider that there is a breach of Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991(2) on the treatment of urban waste water?

2. Has the Spanish government drawn up and submitted to the Commission its national programme for the implementation of this directive, as required by the tenth recital of the text?

3. In the specific case of the city of Murcia, is there not an obvious breach of Article 3.1 of that directive, which lays down a deadline of 31 December 1998 for the installation of collection systems in urban communities of more than 10 000 inhabitants and where the dumping of sewage occurs into waters classified as 'sensitive areas' - a designation which may be applied to the river Segura flowing through Murcia?

Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission

(4 August 1998)

Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste-water treatment, as amended by Commission Directive 98/15/EC of 27 February 1998(3), requires Member States to ensure that all agglomerations with a population equivalent of more than 2 000 (population equivalent is a unit of measurement representing the average organic load produced by one person in one day) be equipped with urban waste-water collection and treatment systems. The basic level for treatment is secondary treatment, i.e. biological. However, the level of treatment must be more stringent for waste from agglomerations of more than 10 000 p.e. in areas the Member States identify as sensitive, and in the corresponding catchment areas.

The deadline for identifying sensitive areas was 31 December 1993. Spain failed to identify its areas, and the Commission has therefore instituted infringement proceedings. The deadline for implementing urban waste-water collection and treatment systems is 31 December 1998 for agglomerations of more than 10 000 p.e. discharging into sensitive areas, 31 December 2000 for agglomerations of more than 15 000 p.e. not discharging into sensitive areas and 31 December 2005 for the smallest agglomerations. The Commission will check in good time that these obligations are being observed in respect of all the agglomerations in question, including the city of Murcia.

In June 1994 the Spanish authorities sent the Commission the implementation programme required under Article 17 of the Directive. The programme gives overall information on the projected investment necessary to comply with the provisions of the Directive, without going into detail on the situation of each agglomeration.

A report entitled "Summary information on water treatment in Spain", which the Spanish authorities sent the Commission on 20 April 1998, indicates that an urban waste-water facility is being built in Murcia.

(1) OJ C 117, 16.4.1998, p. 44.

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

(3) OJ L 67, 7.3.1998.