The Alarm Raised by Mr. Bruley
Mr. Bruley is a property owner in Planas del Rey. He was, among other things, in charge of a wastewater treatment plant for five years in France, and once again raises the alarm on June 4, 2025. His assessment is unequivocal:
“For about fifteen years now, I’ve been trying to alert everyone involved in Planas about the seriousness of the wastewater treatment problem. Since our treatment plant stopped working, the effluent was discharged untreated into the ravine at the entrance of Planas from the Hospitalet side. Today, no effluent flows anymore: the network is clogged. Wastewater is backing up into streets and plots. We are heading toward disaster.”
With 450 houses and up to 2,000 inhabitants during peak season, Planas generates a colossal pollution load. The network, designed in the 1960s, is now at breaking point. Poorly maintained, obsolete, buried without maps, it has become unmanageable. Concrete is cracking, roots are invading the pipes, and the pipelines are broken or have collapsed under the houses themselves. Yet, we continue to pay sanitation fees to Comaigua, a provider selected by the Pratdip town hall.
Mr. Ripolles Acknowledges the Failure
In a recent message, Domingo Ripolles, municipal councillor in Pratdip and representative of Planas, admits:
“Buildings last over time, and what is done well or poorly always eventually comes to light: pipelines passing under private properties, potable water on inaccessible land, lack of maps… That is our legacy.”
So what is the town hall doing today to correct these mistakes? A grant of 700,000 euros was awarded by the Generalitat to rehabilitate the treatment plant. However, according to Ripolles himself, the funds will not be released until the urbanization has refurbished its sewage system.
Audio message from Mr. Ripolles in Spanish
A Treatment Plant Born from the Residents’ Will
It’s important to remember that the wastewater treatment plant of Planas del Rey was not a public initiative, but rather the result of an exemplary commitment by the residents of the urbanization. As early as 1977, aware of health and environmental issues, they decided to fund the construction themselves, without any help from the State or the municipality of Pratdip.
This project was led by two visionary former owners, Mr. Riffat and Mr. Archambault, who spearheaded the creation of the plant. The facility was entirely funded by the residents of Planas del Rey and received approval from the Catalan Water Agency (ACA) upon commissioning.
By court decision on November 23, 1993, the Pratdip town hall became the official owner of all common areas of the urbanization, including streets, the treatment plant, pumps, pipelines, green spaces, and public lighting.
The lawyer of the EUCC, confirms that the common areas are registered in the name of the town hall
More recently, on April 25, 2017, the plant’s compliance status was confirmed by BSI Management Systems, an international organization specialized in technical and environmental certifications. This is further proof, if needed, that this facility was a strategic asset, still usable in 2017, if there had been political will to operate it.
The responsibilities of the Pratdip Town Hall
1. The wastewater treatment plant: registered as municipal property in the cadastre
The wastewater treatment plant is currently registered under the name of the Pratdip Town Hall in the cadastre, which constitutes an important administrative recognition.
However, the cadastre is not a legal title of ownership. For the town hall to be fully responsible for the facility, there would need to be a formal act of acceptance or an entry in the land registry, which has not been done to date.
Nevertheless:
- The plant was built with public funds, on land belonging to the former EUC.
- It was deliberately shut down in 2016 by decision of the Pratdip municipal council.
- It is widely known to be intended for collective use by the urbanization, which creates a moral and political obligation, if not a legal one.
2. A clear legal obligation
Article 26 of the Law 7/1985 on the foundations of local government requires municipalities, even small ones, to provide a minimum of public services, including wastewater treatment.
The town hall cannot shirk this obligation by claiming a so-called “private” status of the urbanization, especially considering that:
- The infrastructures are largely registered under its name in the cadastre,
- And residents pay more than 280,000 euros annually in property tax (IBI).
3. A blocked subsidy
A public subsidy of 700,000 euros is said to have been granted (according to several testimonies) to allow the reactivation of the plant.
But this aid remains conditional upon the compliance of the sewerage network, which the town hall has never undertaken.
Conclusion
Yes, the responsibility of the town hall is engaged on several levels:
- Legal: for failing to ensure a fundamental public service.
- Technical: for having abandoned a collective facility.
- Political: for 15 years of deliberate inaction despite repeated warnings.
A Health Alert for the Entire Region
What is happening in Planas del Rey now goes beyond the local level. The uncontrolled discharge of wastewater, the risks of soil contamination, of surface water and of groundwater threaten the ecological balance of the entire area.
If no urgent measures are taken, it won’t be just Planas, but also neighboring municipalities, beaches, crops, and public health that will be affected.
This situation is not a surprise. As early as November 4, 2019, the SOS Planas association had already raised the alarm through an article entitled: Pratdip, an announced health and ecological disaster. Since then, nothing has been done, except for the official handover of the treatment plant by the town hall, without any restoration work being undertaken.
This is no longer a warning. It is a certainty. Planas del Rey is now experiencing a major health and environmental crisis. And this time, residents, institutions, and authorities will not be able to say they didn’t know.
SOS Planas
