Playa De Plentzia Pm1

Spain Transitional 2 - Good

Plentzia Beach is an urban bathing area located in the Butroe estuary in Bizkaia, Spain. The beach is 356 meters long with a fine sand composition and is partially protected from the sea and northwest winds by the western breakwater of Plentzia Bay. It is adjacent to the Butroe River mouth, separated by a small breakwater, and bordered to the east by Gorliz Beach. The beach experiences moderate wave conditions with an average annual wave height of 1 meter and has a medium-low exposure to wave energy. Water renewal occurs within 7 days or less.

Reviews

No reviews yet.

Write a review

Photos

Upload a photo

Water

Transition water body of the Butroe estuary. Beach length: 356 meters. Mean width: 170 meters. Low tide area: 75,497 square meters. High tide area: 34,137 square meters. Fine sand composition (D50 = 0.22 mm). Butroe River has a hyper-annual mean discharge of 4.7 cubic meters per second, with mean recorded discharge of 2.5 cubic meters per second. Maximum river depth at mean tide: 10 meters. Astronomical tidal range: 4.5 meters. Minimum tide: 1 meter. Maximum tidal current velocities near the river mouth: 0.75 meters per second during maximum ebb and 0.5 meters per second during maximum flood in spring tides.

Location

Plentzia municipality, Bizkaia province, Spain. The beach has good pedestrian and vehicle access with 750 parking spaces available. A promenade is present along the beach.

Facilities

Four lifeguards, three Hondartzainas (beach wardens), one observation tower, first aid kit. Public services: 19 showers, 10 toilets, 11 sinks. Sand-based facilities: 15 showers, 4 foot washers, 5 water fountains. 40 waste bins. Information panels and public address system. Children's play area, sports area, bicycle racks, support area with benches, fountains, and waste bins. Medical equipment available by telephone.

Water Quality

Water quality is monitored by the Public Health Direction of the Basque Government at sampling point PM1 in the beach center. The Gorliz wastewater treatment plant, operational since 1998, treats most wastewater from Gorliz, Barrika, and Plentzia municipalities with secondary aerobic treatment achieving over 80 percent DBO removal and ammoniacal nitrogen removal. Treatment was upgraded in 2006 with biological treatment, ultraviolet disinfection, and mechanical sludge dehydration. A submarine outfall designed to discharge effluent 700 meters offshore at 25 meters depth was planned for October 2011.

Risks

The Butroe River is the main pollution source. During flood episodes, river discharge can increase by more than one order of magnitude compared to mean values. The port of Plentzia and dredging operations at the river mouth are secondary pollution sources.