Mont-roig del Camp and Vandellòs exceeded at some point in 2024 the legal limit of nitrates in drinking water, set at 50 mg/l, according to the interactive map disseminated by Greenpeace on the situation in Spain. The organization maintains that, upon exceeding that threshold, tap water ceased to be safe for consumption in both municipalities of the province of Tarragona.
The entity estimates at 332 the Spanish municipalities that registered during 2024 nitrate concentrations above the legal maximum. In those cases, it considers that safe water consumption was made impossible. Furthermore, it proposes lowering the current legal limit and setting it at 6 mg/l.
Tarragona concentrates municipalities in red and yellow level
In the Tarragona demarcation, Greenpeace places municipalities with concentrations between 30 and 50 mg/l at a red level, a range it defines as a critical point within current legislation. In that category appear Ulldecona, La Galera, Santa Bàrbara, Móra la Nova, Falset, Marçà, Les Borges del Camp, Reus, La Pobla de Mafumet, Els Pallaresos, La Secuita, Renau, La Riera de Gaià, La Pobla de Montornès, Albinyana, Santa Oliva, El Vendrell, Castellet i la Gornal, Puigpelat, Bràfim, Vallmoll, Valls, El Milà, Figuerola del Camp, Cabra del Camp and Prat de Comte.
The yellow level groups concentrations between 6 and 30 mg/l, values that the organization considers higher than what is recommended for health. In Tarragona, the following are in that range: Alcanar, Sant Rafael del Riu, La Ràpita, Amposta, Godall, Freginals, Masdenverge, Sant Jaume d"Enveja, L"Aldea, Tortosa, L"Ampolla, Roquetes, Alfara de Carles, Alcover, Xerta, El Perelló, L"Ametlla de Mar, Colldejou, Cambrils, Montbrió del Camp, Riudoms, Salou, Vila-seca, La Canonja, Tarragona, Constantí, Creixell, La Nou de Gaià, Vespella de Gaià, Perafort, Roda de Berà, Salomó, Bonastre, Calafell, L"Arboç, Cunit, Bellvei, La Bisbal del Penedès, La Juncosa del Montmell, Rodonyà, Masllorenç, La Selva del Camp, Almoster and Castellvell del Camp.
The legal threshold and the recommended one
The environmental organization differentiates three scenarios. On the one hand, the municipalities that exceed 50 mg/l and surpass the legal limit. On the other, those that move between 30 and 50 mg/l, considered critical. And, additionally, those that present between 6 and 30 mg/l, above the level it recommends to protect health. The rest of the municipalities are below 6 mg/l or do not have sufficient data.
Greenpeace defends that the legal limit of 50 mg/l should be notably reduced to 6 mg/l. That approach clearly toughens the current criterion and expands the number of localities under surveillance due to the presence of nitrates in the supply water.
Intensive agriculture and livestock farming in focus
The Ministry for Ecological Transition attributes the main cause of this pollution to intensive agriculture and the massive use of fertilizers applied to the land. Greenpeace adds the impact of mega-farms, due to the large amount of manure they generate, along with the use of synthetic fertilizers.
At the European level, the data cited by the organization indicate that 81% of the agricultural nitrogen input into aquatic systems comes directly or indirectly from livestock farming. This context once again places the debate on drinking water quality in several municipalities in Tarragona, with two localities above the legal maximum and dozens more at levels that the entity considers worrying.