The rupture of the pipe that transports reclaimed water from the Metropolitan area to the south of the Island for agricultural use does not affect the activity of the primary sector in the region. The breakdown occurred on the 19th at Las Bajas, near Puertito de Güímar, due to the action of the waves and the lateral displacement of the two pipes at their junction, “as a direct consequence of the construction of a breakwater stones for the containment of the earth slope of an access track». Specifically, due to the weight of the material supported by the conduit structure. Work carried out by the City Council.
Work to repair this pipe should be completed by the end of next week. Until then, the supply of regenerated water to the ponds in the South will be interrupted. “As this area is irrigated with reclaimed water, it allows us to give farmers peace of mind because they will have water for crops that depend on irrigation networks,” explains the Councilor for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Cabildo, Javier Parrilla. The same ensures that at the time of the incident, the irrigation ponds in the region were at 72% of their capacity.
Currently, in addition to the contribution of this pipeline, since August 2019 the south of Tenerife has had desalinated water that comes from the stations located in Fonsalía (Guía de Isora) and San Isidro (Granadilla de Abona), in addition to the flows from of the Adeje-Arona reclaimed water station, “which gives greater guarantees than in the past”, says Parrilla, “without forgetting the improvement in the interconnection between storage spaces that we have achieved”.
The complexity of the actions recommend caution. The repair is carried out in an area of difficult access and with heavy machinery. The counselor announces that the replacement of the service will be done through a new layout to provide more guarantees to this pipeline managed by the Balten company, attached to the Cabildo. “We have already experienced a similar situation in 2019, at the height of Los Moriscos and, although the performance of the Balten workers has been impeccable, we must be forewarned.”
The 62-kilometre pipeline supplies the Valle San Lorenzo (Arona) reservoir, which completes the regenerated water storage system in the South, together with the San Isidro and El Saltadero reservoirs.
