The Valle Molina raft, in Tegueste, has lost a significant part of the stored water after a breakdown occurred on a private channel. This was confirmed by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Javier Parrilla (PSOE), who added that measures have been articulated to prevent users from running out of supply as soon as a solution is achieved. The politician also highlighted that, despite the decrease suffered and that visually it seems that there is very little water, there are still 25,000 cubic meters.
“The basis of the matter is that there was a failure in a private pipeline that was not communicated to us. It is not an area in which I can intervene. We discovered this problem because in Valle Molina storage levels began to fall almost sharply. At the beginning of the month we had 34,000 cubic meters, 6% “, said Parrilla, who reassured: “34,000 cubic meters is a lot of water.”
In more detail, the counselor indicated that the events were triggered after the pipe was clogged, and specified that the affected area is already located, but that, as it is a private point, the solution is complicated. To avoid situations like this, he defended that the “great distribution lines” should be public, and affirmed that it is something he has been “committed” to since he came to Agriculture.
This contingency affects farmers in an area near the Mesa de Tejina and producers in Tegueste (between Valle Molina and the general highway). So that the problem does not get worse, Javier Parrilla explained that an irrigation modulation plan has been proposed. “All this has been communicated to subscribers and agents operating in the area,” he said, before adding that on Wednesday they held a meeting with the Association of Growers and Exporters of Flowers and Live Plants of the Canary Islands (Asocan).
It should be noted thate there have been additional contributions of water for both Valle Molina and the San Antonio basin, located in La Matanza, which was initially affected but has already “quite recovered.” The extra flows for the teguestera installation come from the Teidagua and Aqualia companies, said the socialist politician. “We are also asking Emmasa to release desalinated water from the Santa Cruz desalination plant,” he said.
Valle Molina’s situation contrasts with that of the rest of the island, where the rafts are currently at 49% of storage, a percentage higher than at this time last year, said Parrilla. “It is not a global problem or a lack of foresight,” said the island councilor for Agriculture.
