Badalona City Council (Barcelonès Nord) and Marina Badalona have set up a technical team to solve the problem caused by the sudden increase in the adult population of flying insects called chironomids in the canal area, which have already caused alarm among residents because of the inconvenience they entail at this time.
Chironomids, which do not bite or pose any risk to public health, but do make very visible and characteristic clouds, have been detected in the Badalona canal area, preferably at dusk, above the canal waters and taking advantage of the shelter of the existing vegetation.
Although these insects do not imply any harm to health, the abundant presence of this species can cause discomfort and inconvenience to residents and businesses in the area, for which the technical team has agreed in a meeting held on Thursday at the Harbor Master’s Office , launch an urgent control action in successive phases.
First of all, an in-depth cleaning of the pond, bars and sewers of the canal docks began yesterday, which continues this Friday. A second performance is carried out this Friday with the taking of samples and a first treatment of the canal water by applying a biodegradable polymer suitable for the environment, which acts as a barrier to the growth of chironomid larvae and which You must introduce an improvement immediately.
Next Wednesday, July 5, a biological treatment will be carried out that acts directly on the substrate at the bottom of the channel, where the larvae grow. This measure should drastically reduce the population of chironomids.
Once these shock treatments have been carried out, the proliferation of both the insect and the photosynthetic algae in the canal, which have arisen due to the excellent quality of the water, will be controlled on a weekly, fortnightly and monthly basis, after the work carried out by Marina Badalona has done in recent months.
The chironomids are a family of non-biting diptera that are characterized by forming column-shaped clouds and that at sunset approach the points of light in the city near rivers, streams or wet areas. The eggs, larvae and pupae live in the water, while the adults emerge from the water and form these clouds, which are seen in the channel area, to reproduce.
Badalona City Council and Marina Badalona regret the inconvenience that this incident, a consequence of the canal construction process, may cause.
