A specialist raises the alarm once again
On 4 June 2025, Mr Bruley, a property owner in Planas del Rey and former manager of a wastewater treatment plant in France for five years, again warned residents about the deteriorating condition of the development’s sewerage network.
His assessment was unequivocal:
“For around fifteen years, I have been trying to alert everyone involved in Planas to the seriousness of the wastewater treatment problem. Since our treatment plant stopped operating, untreated effluent had been flowing into the ravine at the entrance to Planas on the Hospitalet side. Today, no effluent is flowing at all: the network is blocked. Wastewater is backing up into the streets and onto private plots. We are heading towards a disaster.”
According to Mr Bruley, the network, originally built in the 1960s, has now reached its limits. Tree roots, cracks, collapsed pipes, the absence of accurate plans and insufficient maintenance are making it increasingly difficult to operate.
With approximately 450 homes and up to 2,000 residents during the summer season, the volume of wastewater that the network must handle has become considerable.
A diagnosis now shared by local representatives
A few days later, Domingo Ripollès, a Pratdip municipal councillor and representative of Planas del Rey, also acknowledged the many problems inherited from the development’s history.
“Buildings remain over time, and both what was done well and what was done badly eventually comes to light: pipes running beneath private properties, drinking-water infrastructure located on inaccessible land, the absence of plans… That is our legacy.”
He also explained that bringing the wastewater treatment plant back into operation would first require the complete renovation of the sewerage network.
Audio message from Domingo Ripollès (in Spanish)
A wastewater treatment plant built by property owners
The Planas del Rey wastewater treatment plant was not originally built as a public-sector initiative. In 1977, the development’s property owners decided to finance the facility themselves in order to provide wastewater treatment for the community.
The project was led in particular by Mr Riffat and Mr Archambault. The plant was funded by Planas del Rey residents and received approval from the Catalan Water Agency (ACA).
Following a court ruling dated 23 November 1993, the development’s common infrastructure, including the wastewater treatment plant, was transferred to Pratdip Town Hall.
More recently, on 25 April 2017, BSI Management Systems confirmed the plant’s compliance status, indicating that the facility could still be operated, subject to appropriate maintenance.
View the compliance certificate
Funding dependent on the renovation of the sewerage network
According to information communicated during various public meetings, a €700,000 grant was planned to support the return of the wastewater treatment plant to service.
However, access to this funding remains conditional upon the complete renovation of the sewerage network, which is currently considered too deteriorated to be connected to a new or refurbished treatment facility.
In practice, the rehabilitation of the treatment plant therefore depends directly on the prior modernisation of the entire Planas del Rey sewerage network.
A situation that continues to deteriorate
Residents have reported wastewater discharges in several streets within the development, directly linked to failures in the ageing network.
These incidents add to the technical observations made by residents and to the concerns now being expressed by local representatives.
A public health and environmental issue
The poor condition of the sewerage network does not affect only the residents of Planas del Rey. Wastewater overflows may also pose risks to the soil, surface water and the surrounding natural environment.
As early as 2019, SOS Planas had already warned about this issue in an article entitled “Pratdip: the first signs of a health and environmental crisis in Planas del Rey”.
Six years later, the problems identified at the time remain unresolved. The testimonies collected, field observations and statements made by local representatives now point towards the same conclusion: the Planas del Rey sewerage network has reached a critical point and requires major intervention.
12/06/2025
Jim – La Tribune de Planas
