Interesting BBC article on the Mar Menor

https://internationalliving.com/five-places-to-live-in-spain-two-to-avoid

And in a primarily American magazine: Where to Avoid in Spain:1. El Mar Menor©istock.com/bpsm

El Mar Menor is a saltwater lagoon in the community of Murcia, near the city of Cartagena, on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. Its warm, clear water with high salinity makes it ideal for all kinds of water sports. Tourist infrastructure is well-developed. At the northern end of the lagoon is a national park where there are salt flats that include an important wetland and bird sanctuary. The problem is that in 2016, despite 18 years of warnings from environmentalists, pollution from the many hotels built on the narrow peninsula caused an ecological collapse of marine life in the lagoon.

In May 2017, all the beaches lost their Blue Flag designation due to high contamination of the lagoon waters. In September 2019, heavy rains caused floods to dump more pollution into the lagoon causing thousands of dead fish to wash up on the beaches. Spaniards who bought vacation homes there cannot sell them due to the continuing contamination. Don’t swim there, and don’t buy property in the immediate area.

Interestingly, the American article blames all the new hotels being built in the area (?), while the primary focus in the BBC one is on agriculture, which appears to be the Spanish authorities focus also.