While the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department is still on yellow rain-flood alert, swimming is now prohibited on the Basque coast until further notice.
The decision was taken this Thursday by the urban community of the Basque Country, due to the bad weather that has hit the region since Wednesday.
The 34 beaches on the Basque coast are affected by this ban, as well as the lake of Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle near Saint-Jean-de-Luz.
"In the event of very intense rains, as is the case today, the basins upstream of the treatment plants which usually store wastewater and rainwater are saturated and can then occasionally flow into the natural environment", explains community on their Facebook page.
A risk of bacteriological pollution
"The runoff of rainwater can also convey bacteriological pollution", she continues, specifying that she invests each year "40 million euros to limit these spills (creation of storage basins, modernization of networks and compliance monitoring dwellings)”.
New bacteriological analyzes of the sea water will be carried out this Friday morning.
We will then know if the purple flag, signaling water pollution, will be lowered or not on the beaches of the Basque coast.
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