SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 15 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Santa Cruz-Arona reclaimed water pipeline celebrates its 30th anniversary this Saturday. It was the first water reuse system that came into operation on the island, in 1993, and today it continues to be essential to guarantee the supply of irrigation water to the south of Tenerife.
Last February, the Cabildo, through the public company Balsas de Tenerife (Balten), began repair work on this pipeline, a pioneer in the Canary Islands, which in recent years has shown significant deterioration. The works have a budget of 1.4 million euros and are expected to be completed at the beginning of 2024.
Currently, reclaimed water exceeds 55 percent of the supply for agriculture on the island, which reflects the importance of preserving this facility and the need to continue developing purification and desalination systems to provide greater stability and quality to the supply.
The works include the repair and improvement of the pipeline between the pumping station located under the Buenos Aires Wastewater Treatment Plant (EDAR), in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, to the Valle San Lorenzo reservoir, in Arona, which consists of a first section of pipe of 6.63 kilometers and that leads the water to a deposit located in El Tablero, with a capacity of 15,000 cubic meters.
Starting from El Tablero, the 62.22-kilometer-long transport pipeline itself develops, which runs practically parallel to the Autopista del Sur to the Valle de San Lorenzo pond, with a capacity of 250,000 cubic meters.
Through this action, the passage works, manholes and other structural elements will also be improved. In the same way, valve elements will be replaced, the anchors will be reinforced and new control devices will be installed.
The use of reclaimed water not only responds to the growing water demand of the agricultural sector, with sanitary and agronomic quality criteria that meet the most demanding standards, but also brings environmental benefits, helping to promote the circular economy and releasing quality water. for the most demanding uses, such as the production of drinking water.
The Balten infrastructure is made up of 21 irrigation ponds (with a total storage capacity of more than 5 cubic hectometres), three desalination plants with EDR (reversible electrodialysis) technology, plus 1,500 kilometers of pipes, three wells and a groundwater gallery. In 2022, almost 20 million cubic meters of water were supplied to more than 11,500 paying customers, of which 11 million were reclaimed water.
