Some 200 people, according to the Local Police of the silos, concentrated on the afternoon of this Thursday, January 27, 2022 at the Light Square to show their noisy rejection of the agreement signed by the City Council of Silense with the Cabildo de Tenerife and the Consistory of Garachico for the start-up of the regional wastewater sanitation system. The Los Silos-Isla Baja Platform, which leads the region in its commitment to natural purification and opposition to the transfer of sewage from Garachico to the emissary of the silent coast, convened this casserole to demand that the government group (CC-PP) renounce the agreement reached in December and bet on the immediate construction of two extensive or natural treatment plants in The Silos and Garachico.
The local government (CC-PP), the Cabildo de Tenerife and the Insular Council of Waters of Tenerife defend this agreement as the only short-term solution to end the illegal dumping of wastewater into the sea, which has occurred every day since October 2017. As they have explained, this agreement will serve to receive almost 700,000 euros to repair Los Silos Wastewater Treatment Plant and the regional submarine outfall; ensure that the wastewater from the silent part of The Cove of Interian are properly treated at the Garachico station, to be later evacuated by the outfall; obtain administrative authorization to discharge into the sea legally; avoid sanctions and the commission of an environmental crime, and ensure that the waters of The Silos and Garachico are dumped into the sea “properly treated, according to European Union directives”.
The president and spokesperson of the Los Silos-Isla Baja Platform, Robert Hernandez, denied yesterday that this neighborhood movement is committed to the continuation of dumping into the sea: «We are against all dumping because the sea has no borders, what happens is that we say that the money that is going to be invested in repairing the Garachico and Los Silos outfall and wastewater treatment plants could be used to build, in the same period of time, two extensive or natural treatment plants on the coast of both municipalities».
The silent government rejects this proposal with the arguments that “currently there are no feasibility studies, nor specific technical projects that allow knowing aspects such as the surface that this natural treatment would occupy, the cost of implementation and maintenance or the quality of the water regenerated there. The only thing that exists is a deep technical debate. They underline that this agreement “is not incompatible with implementing a natural purification in the future, but it allows us to gain time to advance in these studies without continuing with the illegal dumping into the sea of untreated sewage.
While an ordinary plenary session was taking place in the Consistory, the concentrates used pots, lids, pans, horns, tambourines and whistles to show their opposition to the district sanitation system, which was made clear with black ribbons and banners with phrases such as “It is time to wake up, we are risking the future of our coast”; “They sold the town!”; “Natural purification, now!”, or “No more discharges into the sea”. Roberto Hernández announced that they are already preparing a major demonstration for “February or March”, between the Silense City Council and the coast, and that they are working to appeal the agreement “before the courts and also before the European Union».
“The only short-term solution”
The Silense Government (CC-PP) has defended the controversial agreement with the Cabildo and Garachico because it is, in its opinion, the only short-term solution to end the illegal dumping of wastewater into the sea, which has been going on since October 2017. While their opponents emphasize that Garachico’s wastewater will be channeled to the submarine outfall off the coast of Los Silos, CC and PP respond that this firm will allow them to receive an investment of around 696,000 euros to repair the Wastewater Treatment Station. Residual waters from Los Silos and the emissary and put an end to illegal dumping.
