The tab of the policy water from Tenerife In the future, in the medium and long term, it is on the side of the board of the 31 municipalities of the Island. The Cabildo considers that it complies by facilitating the regeneration of water “in quantity and quality” during the next two years thanks to the works that , for a value of 300 million euros, are already being undertaken in five large hydraulic systems throughout the insular geography. It is now up to the municipalities to plan and develop the complete connection to the houses of the public piping and sewage system. The Island Corporation also puts “the circular economy” as its axis. It was the basis for the argument of the Insular Water Council (CIATF) during the technical conference to analyze the processes of water management and planning.
The vice president of the CIATF and island councilor for Sustainable Development and the Fight Against Climate Change, Javier Rodríguez Medina, points out that “in Tenerife we needed to immediately carry out many works to put an end to the serious problem of spills.” He adds that “with the sword of Damocles of the sanctions of the European Union we have lived together for decades.”
The Museum of Nature and Archeology (MUNA) hosted the events to commemorate International Water Day. Rodríguez Medina explained that “in four years we have implemented mechanisms to end discharges into the subsoil and the sea, the absence of purification systems or the lack of attention to the care and maintenance of large bodies of water.”
The counselor recalled that the Cabildo has launched works throughout the island territory and this investment effort joins the planning effort, with the approval of the Tenerife hydrological plan that, in its third cycle, “It establishes that the percentage of dependence on groundwater must be reduced from the current 80% to 65% with the threshold in 2027.”
The first intervention was carried out by the manager of the CIATF, Javier Davara, who analyzed all the infrastructures that have been executed in recent years and exposed the development of the eleven sanitation and purification systems executed or in execution. He started from the fact that, in 2018, there were only four systems in Tenerife, which were, he said, “technologically very obsolete.”
These new infrastructures will allow, according to the manager, “To provide in the coming years an important source of supply for the agricultural, tourism and irrigation sector, of urban green areas with the added benefit of ending discharges into the sea”.
Other presentations focused on the experience of reclaimed water in agriculture in Tenerife. This was the case of Oswaldo Renz, an expert in the insular area of the primary sector. Eduardo Alemán, from the Teidagua company, focused on the experience in connecting homes to the general sewerage system. Likewise, extensive purification, also known as natural purification, was analyzed.
The second block of interventions dealt with the experiences of Balsas de Tenerife (Balten) in infrastructures and reclaimed water planning, as well as the challenges and opportunities in wastewater treatment.
Zouhayr Arbib, head of R&D sustainability at Aqualia, presented the Life Intext project, a commitment to the sustainability of wastewater treatment in small and medium-sized towns. Its potential implementation in Tenerife could help rural areas meet their obligations in the treatment of wastewater in a sustainable manner. The local company Tagua exhibited purification solutions in small nuclei or in industries. Finally, a round table debated aspects related to technologies and water regeneration.
Two million euros for wastewater in Adeje
Playa Paraíso, in Adeje, will open sanitation in July after an investment of two million euros. The insular president, Pedro Martín, indicates that “the problem in the west of the municipality will be solved and it will also mean an asset for agriculture, by allowing the use of treated water for the sector.” Martín and the mayor, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga, visited the works, along with the insular Councilor for Municipal Cooperation and Housing, Zebenzuí Chinea. The action has an investment of 1,983,413 euros. The Cabildo contributed 80% (1,398,144 euros) and the city council the remaining 20% (585,268). The insular president stated that the works are advancing on time and, if the forecasts are maintained, in three or four months they will come to an end. The project focuses on the renovation of the pumping stations, Playa Paraíso 1 and 2, as well as the construction of a new system to transport the water to the Arona-Adeje regional treatment plant, which treats those from the south. «The construction of the new pipelines to transport them has already been 100% completed. It remains to conclude the improvement in the pumping stations, now at 80% execution, “explained Martín. The president valued the importance of the action, since “after decades it was necessary to improve the facilities and provide them with new equipment.” For the island president, the intervention “contributes to solving one of the historical problems in the municipality.” The works are included in the Municipal Cooperation Plan 2018-2021. | JDM
