A significant health alert has been raised across the Canary Islands, with environmental experts issuing stark warnings to tourists about potential dangers in the water at popular beach destinations. The Tenerife Association of Friends of Nature (ATAN) has sounded the alarm over what it describes as a brewing health scandal, alleging that both residents and visitors have been exposed to unacceptable health threats for years.
European Court Condemnation and Pollution Concerns
The Court of Justice of the European Union has formally condemned Spain, and the Canary Islands specifically, for failing to properly control urban wastewater discharges. This judicial finding highlights systematic failures in sewage collection systems across multiple areas of Tenerife, including Adeje, Arona, Candelaria, San Isidro, Puerto de Santiago, Playa la Arena, the Orotava Valley, and various southern and metropolitan regions of the island.
Critical Locations Identified
The recent CJEU judgment, which addresses breaches of the Urban Wastewater Directive, identifies twelve critical locations in Tenerife where insufficient collectors, inadequate treatment facilities, and poor monitoring of ocean discharges have created environmental hazards. Although the court's evaluation primarily examines circumstances from 2020 and hasn't yet imposed penalties, the European Commission retains authority to implement sanctions if urgent corrective measures aren't taken.
Beach Closures and Public Health Risks
Throughout 2025, several renowned beaches faced temporary closures due to dangerous levels of faecal contamination. Playa Jardín in Puerto de la Cruz remained shut for nearly a year after E. coli levels significantly exceeded safety limits, with investigations revealing fractures in discharge pipes and substantial shortcomings in municipal sanitation systems.
Environmental groups report that anyone swimming in northern Tenerife waters during these periods likely encountered polluted conditions without receiving clear, real-time, multilingual warnings about the health risks. The situation has been exacerbated by recent storms and torrential downpours in early 2026, which have caused drainage systems to overflow and made sewage discharges visibly apparent along multiple coastal sections through stains, foam, and other contamination markers.
Historical Penalties and Ongoing Issues
This isn't the first time Spain has faced European sanctions over wastewater management failures. Back in 2019, the European Union imposed a €12 million penalty, supplemented by additional €10.9 million fines every six months for ongoing breaches, with Valle de Güímar in Tenerife specifically mentioned among problematic locations. The total financial impact reached approximately €22 million within twelve months, demonstrating the persistent nature of the infrastructure challenges.
Scale of the Problem
Official statistics reveal the alarming extent of the discharge issues. The terrestrial and marine outfall register updated by the Canary Islands Government in 2025 records 403 discharge locations across the archipelago, with 216 operating without proper licenses – representing more than half of all discharge points. Tenerife accounts for the majority of these unlicensed operations, highlighting the island's particular vulnerability.
Broader Environmental Pressures
The Canary Islands face multiple interconnected environmental challenges beyond wastewater management. The region experiences water scarcity, extreme pressure on infrastructure from tourism, and heavy reliance on imported food – with some estimates suggesting 80 to 92 percent of food supplies come from outside the islands. These cumulative pressures contributed to the islands' inclusion in the Fodor's No List 2026, which highlights destinations suffering from unsustainable tourism impacts.
Tourism Industry Implications
Tourism represents the economic cornerstone of the Canary Islands, with their desirable microclimate making them a prime winter sun destination for British and European travellers. The archipelago welcomed nearly 18 million visitors last year, but this success comes with significant environmental costs.
The islands experienced substantial negative attention throughout 2025, ranging from overtourism protests during summer months to reports of airport delays caused by new EU passport checks. In May, thousands of demonstrators marched through streets in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and Lanzarote under banners declaring "Canarias tiene un límite" ("The Canaries have a limit"), sending a clear message that current tourism levels are causing environmental degradation.
Calls for Action and Official Responses
ATAN and other environmental organisations are demanding immediate measures including a temporary halt to tourism expansion, urgent investment in sewage treatment infrastructure, independent audits of discharge points, and new residency rules to limit population growth. These calls come amid growing concerns about the long-term sustainability of the islands' tourism model.
Island officials have responded by emphasising that the court decision examines historical data from 2020 and doesn't reflect current conditions. They point to record levels of investment in sewage and wastewater treatment infrastructure on Tenerife, with numerous treatment plants and pipelines already completed, under construction, or fully funded. However, environmental groups maintain that visible pollution and ongoing beach closures demonstrate that substantial challenges remain unaddressed.
