The Council of Tenerifethrough the public company Balten, has ordered the urgent repair of the breakage, in the municipality of Guimar, in an important pipeline that transports reclaimed water for agricultural irrigation in the southern and southwestern regions. The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Javier Grill, declared, after visiting the fault zone, that “at the moment we have enough water to guarantee the irrigation supply to subscribers of Balten for a month and a half, although the breakdown will be resolved within 15 days. We will do everything possible to reduce that waiting time.”
The location of this break has been produced after observing anomalies in the remote control system of the transport conduction of the Tablero Regulating Reservoir–San Lorenzo Hydraulic Complex. The conduction disconnection is in the area known as Beach of the Bajas, close to the Puertito de Güímar. According to a first assessment, the damage “may have been caused by the action of the waves and by the lateral displacement of the two tubes at their junction, as a direct consequence of the construction of a stone breakwater to contain an earthen embankment of an access road, caused by the weight of the material supported by the conduit structure”.
the counselor has declared an emergency the execution of the repair works “due to the public service nature of water supply for irrigation”.
The break is located in the tube that channels the water from El Tablero to San Lorenzo and sends regenerated and purified water for irrigation south and southwest of the island. Balten assures that no personal or material damage has been caused by this incident, apart from those suffered while driving.
“We have already experienced a similar situation in 2019 at the height of Los Moriscos”
Javier Grill has indicated that “driving has several kilometers that have not received proper maintenance in these years. We have been working on its improvement for two years, but, in addition, we must have other routes that always guarantee water, we have already experienced a similar situation in 2019 at Los Moriscos and, although the actions of the Balten workers have been impeccable, we must be forewarned”.
