El Reducto, the most important beach in Arrecife and one of the tourist attractions of the capital of Lanzarote, has been intermittently closed for swimming since mid-October due to the presence of fecal bacteria incompatible with bathing. It is paradoxical that this same beach has a blue flag awarded by the European Foundation for Environmental Education, and to obtain this award, it must meet the essential requirement of having excellent water quality.
El Reducto urban beach stretches for half a kilometer and is one of the tourist attractions of Lanzarote's capital. However, since October 14, 2025, swimming in its waters has been prohibited due to marine pollution. Despite this, from time to time, a clueless swimmer can be seen taking a dip, although several signs along the beach, in three different languages, warn of the prohibition.
Sources from the Arrecife City Council have explained to La Voz that analyses carried out by Public Health at the request of the council are showing negative results for the presence of bacteria such as Escherichia Coli (E.Coli), a type of bacteria common in the human intestinal tract, but the beach will remain closed at the request of Public Health until the source of contamination is found
Throughout 2025, El Reducto beach has had to fly the red flag on different occasions for the same problem: the detection of fecal bacteria in the sea. Thus, there are at least two points of unauthorized wastewater discharges that are used when the network is overloaded, both located at Punta del Camello. However, the investigations carried out by the Water Consortium in the area have not located the origin of these new pollution episodes.
A few weeks ago, the Lanzarote Island Council's Water Councilor, Domingo Cejas, explained to this newsroom that despite having dug several trenches in the sand of the beach, they had not managed to pinpoint the source of the leaks. However, they did detect an overloaded sewage outfall and ordered Canal Gestión to pump it to the Argana treatment plant.
Clashes between administrations
From the capital's city council, they have reported that Public Health has urged Canal Gestión, the company responsible for wastewater treatment, and the Water Consortium, the institution to which the integral water cycle belongs, to locate the discharge point in order to reopen El Reducto beach. These same sources have assured that neither the Consortium nor Canal Gestión Lanzarote have yet found the source of the contamination.
The serious situation in El Reducto could jeopardize the renewal of the Blue Flag designation. "The municipality's environmental management program will be key in this regard," states one of the four essential requirements to obtain this designation. The remaining conditions are linked to safety, accessibility, and environmental awareness measures.
