The Oliva City Council asserts that the El Morer football field is not municipal and that the Spanish Football Federation is responsible for the irrigation system where legionella was detected.
The Oliva City Council has responded to the detection of legionella in the irrigation system of the El Morer football field. The Councillor for Sports, Joan Mascarell, appeared at a press conference on Thursday to clarify the ownership of the facility and the status of the actions taken.
According to the documentation provided by the council, El Morer is not municipally owned. The owner is the Spanish Football Federation, which also assumes the preventive and corrective maintenance of the irrigation system. Furthermore, the Oliva City Council claims not to have received any request or notification from Health regarding this system.
The Health Department conducted an initial inspection on August 14, 2025, during which the Federation was required to correct several deficiencies in the irrigation system. Subsequently, U.D. Oliva formally received the request for remediation in January.
The club undertook the actions it was responsible for according to the agreement signed with the Federation. It hired a specialized company for the treatment, cleaning, and disinfection of the system, as well as for conducting the necessary analyses. In March of this year, the presence of legionella was detected, leading to the closure and sealing of the irrigation system.
The most important thing now is to ensure that the system is not used again until all necessary actions have been completed and all corresponding health guarantees are in place. Also, to continue working together with the club so that as soon as possible the Confederation authorizes us to connect to irrigate from the Sports Centre well,” declared Mascarell.
The councillor emphasized that the immediate goal is to keep the system sealed and coordinate with the club on the next steps. The provisional solution involves using the Sports Centre well for irrigation, once the Hydrographic Confederation grants its authorization.
For the moment, the football field is still unable to use its usual irrigation system. The City Council and U.D. Oliva are working together to resolve the situation with all health guarantees and to resume normal activity at the facility as soon as possible.
You may also like
