SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, March 14. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Cabildo de Tenerife, through the public company Balsas de Tenerife (Balten), will offer reclaimed water to farmers throughout the northeast region of the island at a more affordable price than the current one.
This is explained by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Javier Parrilla, who adds that “the Urban Wastewater Treatment Plant –WWTP– of Valle de Guerra will become the main element for generating quality water for crops that depend on the raft of Valle Molina –Tegueste–“.
According to Javier Parrilla, this infrastructure “which unites technological innovation with efficiency, has been an example and a model to follow on the island to obtain high-quality water for the agricultural sector.”
The councilor emphasizes that the development of Tenerife “has been and will be linked to water, a scarce and highly valuable element, which is why Balten joins the change, the sustainable use of resources and contributes to advancing the culture of water on the island.
The also vice-president of Balten maintains that the use of reclaimed water is “essential” for effective agricultural development, “because with technology we can guarantee quality water and flows that satisfy farmers”, and highlights the effort has been carrying out in order to bring this “high quality water for agriculture” closer to the crops of the Northeast region.
Javier Parrilla explained that a pump will be carried out to raise the reclaimed water from the Valle de Guerra WWTP to the Valle Molina reservoir and thus be able to obtain 6,000 cubic meters of stable water per day throughout the year at 750 microsiemens per centimeter of conductivity , which, mixed with the white water that currently enters the pond, will make it possible to obtain a water product of 1,000 microsiemens per centimeter.
Currently, only 51 subscribers benefit from reclaimed water, who in 2021 consumed a total of 351,172 cubic meters and with this action a total of 2,925 subscribers throughout the region will benefit.
MOLINA VALLEY RAFTING
The councilor added that “this improvement will also occur in the quality of the water, which will improve the productivity of the crops in the region and will allow the introduction of new crops.”
The Valle Molina reservoir was built in 1987 and has a capacity of 614,373 cubic meters.
There are currently some 2,900 subscribers and in 2021 some 1,214,700 cubic meters (double the storage capacity) of a quality of 1,200 microsiemens per centimeter of conductivity on average will be supplied. Currently, it is the head pond of the Northeast Region of Tenerife.
Parrilla has already announced this “historical milestone” for the northeast of the island to the associations with the greatest representation of the agricultural sector in the region (COAG, ASAGA, ASOCAN and AVITE) and to the municipalities of Tegueste and La Laguna.
WATER MONITORING PLAN
All associations and public administrations showed their support for the reconversion of this pond, which will improve the quality and price of water and keep the level of storage in the region more balanced.
“This very important project for the region and for the island comes to strengthen the line that we have drawn from the Cabildo. My responsibility is to do for and for the farmers of the island and I will continue working to improve the quality of the water in each region. We are working to turn Tenerife into an island that makes maximum use of natural resources, with reuse in the agricultural sector,” he concluded.
Since 2019, the University Institute of Tropical Diseases and Public Health of the Canary Islands has been carrying out a monitoring plan for reclaimed water in the implementation of irrigation in the Northeast region of the Valle de Guerra Treatment Plant.
The results obtained reflect that the microbiological quality criteria established in the current regulations for its use in agricultural use in all cases described in the Royal Decree are met.
Javier Parrilla assures that this monitoring plan aims to give farmers a guarantee, and recalls that this type of water, which complies with European regulations, has more health controls.
“Even so, the Cabildo de Tenerife will establish additional controls in soil analysis, so there will be total control of microbiological quality throughout its cycle, from generation to final use,” he says.
