The cave has been declared a Special Conservation Zone, or ZEC and the contamination has been reported by both environmental groups and the Balearic Federation of Caving.
Last December, United per Conservar raised the alarm after a visit to the site and described the situation inside the cave as extremely grave due to an accumulation of solid faecal waste which is now difficult to remove.
The President of the Federation, Guiem Mulet, has long warned the Ministry of the Environment of the accumulation of solid waste in the Genovesa cave.
“At first it was thought that it must have come from a chalet that didn’t have proper sewerage, but when our work team saw how big the mountain of waste was, they realised it was impossible that it came from a single house,” he explained.
The contamination was not just liquid and organic waste, there was also an accumulation of plastics, including cotton buds, pads and condoms.
"The problem comes from the pumping station that belongs to Abacua which was not properly sealed, so the faeces from the Cala Anguila housing estate was leaking into the cave,” said Guiem Mulet, who also pointed out that eels and shrimp in the underground cave feed on the faeces.
“The main problem now is the accumulation of plastic waste because we don't know how it can be removed, it’s very difficult to clean the area without damaging the cave,” he said.
Robert Busquet from Units per Conservar, who reported the situation last December, said “we will work together with the Speleology Federation to find a solution and study other ways to empty the debris.”
Guiem Mulet also claimed that “there are faecal leaks in the Vallgornera cave, in Llucmajor because there is no sewerage, but they are liquid waste," and he warned that contamination is clear in the cavity of Llucmajor, and that animal species such as hedgehogs are feeding on the faeces.
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