Sodium levels in Benitatxell’s drinking water

Over the last few months, sodium levels have been going up and down constantly, depending on tourist numbers and rainfalls. They ranged from 87 mg/l (17 March) to 332 mg/l (23 April) following the Easter holidays. The first warning level is 200 mg/l, whilst normal levels would be 30–60 mg/l. By mid-May, the values had fallen back to 130 mg/l, but have risen steadily since then. The last two readings, from 11 June (217 mg/l) and 25 June (271 mg/l), are now well above the first warning level again. This is quite worrying because on 20 June 2024 (six weeks before the water was declared undrinkable), the level stood at 274 mg/l. 

• Are we going to have another summer without drinking water?
• Why are the figures published only every two weeks in the summer – when they are particularly important – rather than every week, as is usual during the rest of the year?
• What investments have been made in the drinking water infrastructure over the last two years?
• When will drinking water finally be purchased from the desalination plant in Javea on a year-round basis – rather than just in summer – in order to ensure water quality throughout the year? 

Improving drinking water quality should be right at the top of the local authority’s to-do list. 

After the sodium content in drinking water had fallen significantly in the last measurements, it is now again above the limit value of 200 mg/l (maximum permitted limit to ensure water quality) despite the rainfalls. A sodium content of 30-60 mg/l would be recommended. The value for non-potability is 600 mg/L. This value was significantly exceeded in the summer of 2024. In the summer of 2025, the values were well below the limit of 200 mg/L, probably because drinking water is always purchased from the desalination plant in Javea during the summer. However, in autumn, sodium levels rose again to well over 200 mg/l and were also much higher than in autumn 2024.

The mayor wrote on 26th of November about water supply and quality: “Work has recently been completed on adapting the new well and connecting it to the Castellons desalination plant. This increases the flow of drinking water to be supplied. Now we need to contract and begin work on expanding the desalination plant in order to generate more cubic metres of quality water, which is in the hands of the secretary and intervention of the Water Consortium”. 

The values at the end of November and in December were indeed much better, but unfortunately, the latest measurement shows that they are once again above the limit value of 200 mg/l.

Sodium levels in Benitatxell’s drinking water:

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