News from Andalucia & Costa del Sol
In association with
Week July 11th to July 17th
COSTA FIRE PLAN SHUNNED
Regional government acts tough over town halls' apathy
By David Eade
EIGHTY MUNICIPALITIES IN MÁLAGA PROVINCE HAVE FAILED TO PRESENT FIRE FIGHTING PLANS AND ARE NOW FACING COURT ACTION.
As reported in Costa del Sol News, regional government has introduced a law requiring all municipalities in Andalucía to draw up plans to prevent and fight forest fires. The town halls had to lodge their fire plans with regional government's environment ministry by June 15, but 80 municipalities in Málaga Province have failed to do so and face court action.
Only 20 town halls have lodged a fire document to be incorporated into the official forest fire prevention plan Infoca, the majority of them being in the Serranía de Ronda. They are Álora, Antequera, Cuevas del Becerro, Cortes de la Frontera, Málaga, Ronda plus the 14 town halls in the Genal valley. Torremolinos and Benalmádena have also recently presented their plans.
MIJAS MISSES OUT
Missing from the list is Mijas, which has a high proportion of urbanisations at risk. Last June a fire destroyed 700 hectares. Ojén, which also suffered a fire last June, has also failed to meet the deadline.
ROMERÍA FEARS
The failure of the town halls has cancelled many of the summer romerías. Romerías are traditional pilgrimages normally linked to the town's ferias in which thousands of people go in procession into high fire risk rural or forest zones for a day of partying.
Some of the romerias, such as those of Nerja and Frigiliana, were already celebrated in May and June before regional government took action. The famous romería of San Miguel to be celebrated in Torremolinos in September is safe, however. This event which attracts more than 50,000 people will go ahead according to regional government's environment delegate Juan Ignacio Trillo. He added that both Torremolinos and Benalmádena had submitted detailed plans to prevent and fight summer fires.
However in danger is Fuengirola's romería of the Virgen del Rosario, which is attended by more than 25,000 people. Other romerías at risk are those of Istán, Benahavís, Yunquera, Carratraca, La Cala de Mijas, Archidona, Campillos, Casabermeja and Humilladero.
FIRE FIGHTING ON TRACK
Renfe, Spain's national railway company, has put 500 trains in Andalucía on fire prevention duty. The trains cover 12,300 kilometres of track and over 10,000 workers will be involved in the project.
In addition, Renfe has two fire fighting trains, unique in Spain. The trains hold 50,000 litres of water and are based in the rail terminals of Algeciras and Huelva.
POOR WATER QUALITY SPARKS CONCERN
Long-awaited improvements fail to materialise
By David Eade
CONCERN IS BEING EXPRESSED BY RESIDENTS AND THE TOURIST SECTOR AT THE LACK OF IMPROVEMENTS IN THE QUALITY OF THE COASTAL WATERS THIS SUMMER.
Although central government has plans for seven new water treatment plants, not one of them will be operational in time for the peak holiday months of July and August.
The major water treatment plant that is in the pipeline is that of Mijas/Fuengirola. After lengthy delays the Government last week agreed to a 25 million euro project with a consortium of three companies. However the enlargement of the existing plant will take up to four years to accomplish.
The new sewage plant for Benalmádena will not be completed until the second half of 2003, so may well miss next year's tourist season too. The much-awaited Ronda plant starts work this week. Good news though for the people of Cancelada in Estepona where the water company has succeeded in eliminating the bad smells from the Guadalmansa purification works.
There is also better news for the eastern Costa del Sol where the water treatment plant at Rincón de la Victoria is almost completed and the one at Vélez Málaga is in its final phases of construction. However the go-aheads are still awaited for plants at Nerja and Torrox.
The public water company Acosol is in the process of investing 320,000 euros in the improvements to five of its water stations, which are integrated into the Costa del Sol's sanitation network. They are at Las Petunias, Guadalmina, El Áncon (Marbella), El Saladillo (Estepona) and Los Claveles (Mijas).
EU EXTENDS THE DEADLINE
Under an EU directive all municipalities with populations of more than 15,000 people had to have wastewater treatment plants installed by January 2001. However the EU has now extended the deadline to 2006 when municipalities with between 5,000 and 15,000 people also have to comply with the water treatment regulations. Failure to do so will result in Spain facing economic sanctions from the EU for non-compliance.
POOR WATER QUALITY SPARKS CONCERN
Long-awaited improvements fail to materialise
By David Eade
CONCERN IS BEING EXPRESSED BY RESIDENTS AND THE TOURIST SECTOR AT THE LACK OF IMPROVEMENTS IN THE QUALITY OF THE COASTAL WATERS THIS SUMMER.
Although central government has plans for seven new water treatment plants, not one of them will be operational in time for the peak holiday months of July and August.
The major water treatment plant that is in the pipeline is that of Mijas/Fuengirola. After lengthy delays the Government last week agreed to a 25 million euro project with a consortium of three companies. However the enlargement of the existing plant will take up to four years to accomplish.
The new sewage plant for Benalmádena will not be completed until the second half of 2003, so may well miss next year's tourist season too. The much-awaited Ronda plant starts work this week. Good news though for the people of Cancelada in Estepona where the water company has succeeded in eliminating the bad smells from the Guadalmansa purification works.
There is also better news for the eastern Costa del Sol where the water treatment plant at Rincón de la Victoria is almost completed and the one at Vélez Málaga is in its final phases of construction. However the go-aheads are still awaited for plants at Nerja and Torrox.
The public water company Acosol is in the process of investing 320,000 euros in the improvements to five of its water stations, which are integrated into the Costa del Sol's sanitation network. They are at Las Petunias, Guadalmina, El Áncon (Marbella), El Saladillo (Estepona) and Los Claveles (Mijas).
EU EXTENDS THE DEADLINE
Under an EU directive all municipalities with populations of more than 15,000 people had to have wastewater treatment plants installed by January 2001. However the EU has now extended the deadline to 2006 when municipalities with between 5,000 and 15,000 people also have to comply with the water treatment regulations. Failure to do so will result in Spain facing economic sanctions from the EU for non-compliance.
MÁLAGA SET FOR SPANISH MEDICAL FIRST
Transplants to cure diabetes will begin soon
By David Jamieson
MÁLAGA'S CARLOS HAYA HOSPITAL IS SET TO BECOME THE FIRST IN SPAIN TO PERFORM A TRANSPLANT IN ORDER TO CURE DIABETES.
The President of the Spanish Diabetes Society, Bernat Soria, talking at the National Biotechnology Conference in Sevilla, said it was probable that the first transplant of this type would be carried out in Málaga. However, last week, a spokesman for Carlos Haya said only that the project had been discussed but nothing was decided on.
A transplant of the pancreatic islets requires two to four donor bodies for each insulin-dependent patient, and as recently as two years ago, had a success rate of only eight per cent.
EIGHTY PER CENT SUCCESS RATE
Recent developments in Canada have seen 80 per cent of transplants resulting in patients being able to stop taking insulin a year after their operations.
The Renal Transplant Unit at Carlos Haya, under Dr Miguel González Molina, has been working for some time on the project, but was not able to put a definitive time scale on when the first transplant would take place. Insiders, however, estimate it will happen within six to twelve months.
MÁLAGA SET FOR SPANISH MEDICAL FIRST
Transplants to cure diabetes will begin soon
By David Jamieson
MÁLAGA'S CARLOS HAYA HOSPITAL IS SET TO BECOME THE FIRST IN SPAIN TO PERFORM A TRANSPLANT IN ORDER TO CURE DIABETES.
The President of the Spanish Diabetes Society, Bernat Soria, talking at the National Biotechnology Conference in Sevilla, said it was probable that the first transplant of this type would be carried out in Málaga. However, last week, a spokesman for Carlos Haya said only that the project had been discussed but nothing was decided on.
A transplant of the pancreatic islets requires two to four donor bodies for each insulin-dependent patient, and as recently as two years ago, had a success rate of only eight per cent.
EIGHTY PER CENT SUCCESS RATE
Recent developments in Canada have seen 80 per cent of transplants resulting in patients being able to stop taking insulin a year after their operations.
The Renal Transplant Unit at Carlos Haya, under Dr Miguel González Molina, has been working for some time on the project, but was not able to put a definitive time scale on when the first transplant would take place. Insiders, however, estimate it will happen within six to twelve months.
BENALMADENA HAS WATER IN RESERVE
By David Eade
Three new wells have been discovered in Benalmádena after drilling by the municipal water company Emabesa. The new finds, which produce a flow of 7,000 cubic metres of water a day, will be used to supply the population of the municipality in the summer months.
The councillor responsible for the company, Enrique Moya, explained that the town needed an increase of 9,000 cubic metres a day during the peak holiday season to meet the needs of visitors. In the months of July and August water consumption rose from 25,000 cubic metres to 34,000 cubic metres.
The three new wells are at Retamar and Monte Alto, both supplying 30 litres per second, plus the one at Solymar, which produces 35 litres per second. Now that Emabesa has found the new supplies it will carry out the works to extract the water and link it to the supply network.
No water worries this summer
The Ministry of the Environment has guaranteed the water supply to the population for this summer. On average the country's dams are at 56.88 per cent capacity. This total is down 10 per cent on last year but higher than the average for the past 10 years.
La Concepción dam which holds 56 cubic hectaremetres of water is full. The other dams vary in capacity with Conde de Guadalhorce at 49 per cent, Guadalhorce 24.3, Guadalteba 46, El Limonero 25 and La Viñuela 43 per cent.
IMPROVED CAPACITY FOR FUENGIROLA TRAINS
The Ministry of Public Works has given the state railway company Renfe permission to acquire new stock for its local 'cercanías' services. One of the lines that will benefit from this investment is the Málaga to Fuengirola line, which will see an increase in its capacity from 2007.
The Málaga to Fuengirola line is one of the most profitable in Spain. In addition it is the busiest 'cercanías' service in Andalucía carrying on average 20,000 passengers a day. That total accounts for half of all the passengers using 'cercanías' services in the region. It is also the most punctual service in Andalucía with 99.6 trains arriving and leaving on time.
Under the new Government investment plan for the 'cercanías' services, 476 million euros will be invested in new stock and services between 2000 and 2007. Eighty new 'cercanías' train units will be purchased as well as 44 locomotives for other services throughout Spain.