Playa La ?Ora Pm1

Spain Coastal 1 - Excellent

Playa de la Ñora is a 150-meter-long coastal bathing area located in Villaviciosa, Asturias, featuring a golden sand composition and strong wave action. The beach has excellent water quality classified as suitable for bathing and has received the Blue Flag designation for three consecutive years. The water renewal time is less than seven days, and the beach experiences high occupancy during peak seasons.

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Water

Coastal water body, 150 meters long and 70 meters wide (highly variable). Natural origin with golden sand composition. Macrotidal regime with tidal range exceeding 4 meters. Water mass: Costa Este (160007). Average wind speed 5.24 m/s. Current direction northwest. Water renewal time less than 7 days. Strong wave action.

Location

Located in Quintueles, Villaviciosa municipality, Asturias, Spain. The beach is situated in a semi-urbanised setting with abundant forest areas nearby. Parking available with more than 100 spaces. Good pedestrian access and road access.

Facilities

Lifeguards. Showers. Good pedestrian access and road access with over 100 parking spaces.

Water Quality

Water quality classified as excellent for bathing. Microbiological monitoring at sampling point PM1 shows excellent sanitary quality. No relevant contamination sources identified except potential water transport from the Arroyo de la Ñora. Blue Flag designation awarded for three consecutive years (2015, 2016, 2017). Risk of insufficient water quality assessed as low.

Risks

Arroyo de la Ñora is a diffuse pollution source discharging at the beach. Potential short-duration contamination episodes from runoff water, domestic discharge, and seepage from adjacent parcels. Risk frequency biennial with duration under 8 hours. Portuguese man o'war (Physalia physalis) observed with eight specimens in 2008 and several in 2010, requiring brief bathing restrictions. Other jellyfish species recorded including sail jellyfish (Velella velella), sea nettle (Pelagia noctiluca), and moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita). Exceptional jellyfish event in summer 2012 across Asturian coast resulted in some red flag warnings. Historical submarine outfall rupture at Peñarrubia in September 2016 caused contamination episode requiring beach closure. Overall risk of contamination episodes assessed as low.