Artificial reefs in Mallorca to prevent sand loss in Playa de Muro?

The Playa de Muro (beach). | L.OLMO

Andrew EdePlaya de Muro09/10/2021 11:15

It is worrying to learn that in parts of Playa de Muro there has been a loss of sand this year of up to ten metres. This sort of loss used to be a self-regulating natural phenomenon - some currents or storms would take sand away, others would return it. But the recirculation of sand has been affected over the years by infrastructure.

This applies elsewhere on the bay of Alcudia, such as in Puerto Alcudia because of the marina and in Can Picafort because of the yacht club. In Playa de Muro, the S’Oberta breakwater is infrastructure that influences sand recirculation.

This year has been particularly unusual, and so the town hall’s environment department is assessing various solutions. One of these would involve installing artificial reefs some fifty metres from the shore. These reefs would cushion the impact of waves. They have been used for other regeneration projects but none so far in the Balearics.

The town hall has been able to gauge loss of sand from where sunloungers and parasols are arranged. Such has been the loss this year that the sea has been more or less lapping around sunloungers in some parts of the five-kilometre-long beach.