"Raw sewage pollution can trigger toxic algal blooms that strip oxygen from the water, choking aquatic life. It exposes fish and mammals to a cocktail of chemicals and plastics that can disrupt reproduction and damage health."
"The Gibraltar government says the salinity historically created challenges that are not present in other wastewater treatment plants around the world. It also claims that wet wipes that appear occasionally on our beaches have come from outlets in nearby Spain."
"In 2017, the European court of justice ruled that the UK was in breach of wastewater law by failing to treat Gibraltar's sewage, but the European Commission lost any power to take action after Brexit."
"Attempts to fix the problem have repeatedly collapsed. In 2018, Gibraltar's government awarded a contract to a joint venture between NWG Commercial Services (Northumbrian Water) and Modern Water to design, build and operate a treatment plant, only for the deal to fall apart after a Modern Water subsidiary went into liquidation."
Gibraltar lacks a wastewater treatment plant, resulting in untreated sewage from nearly 40,000 people being discharged into the Mediterranean. This pollution threatens marine ecosystems, causing toxic algal blooms and exposing aquatic life to harmful chemicals and plastics. The government attributes the issue to historical salinity challenges and blames nearby Spain for some beach pollution. Previous attempts to establish a treatment facility have failed, including a 2018 contract that collapsed due to a subsidiary's liquidation. The European court ruled the UK in breach of wastewater law, but Brexit limited enforcement options.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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