Every six months, the Spanish state pays 11 million euros for not solving the problems of the wastewater discharged into the sea. When five years have elapsed since he was sentenced for the Court of Justice of the European Union, has already paid at least 85 million, between the initial sanction and the amounts that are added. And that sentence was due, among other places, to non-compliance with the purification of wastewater in the Guimar Valley.
And it is that the south of Tenerife is the region of the Island that presents a worse panorama in terms of water treatment and its reuse, all this to put an end to some discharges into the sea that, beyond the problems they entail, they generate a wide social rejection, as has been evidenced with more intensity in recent years.
So much so that it is this area where the greatest concentration of works, and at a higher rate, are being carried out in the whole of Tenerife. If the calculations of the previous insular councilor of this area in the Cabildo, Javier Rodríguez Medina, happened to reach 250 million euros so that, in 2024, the Island would purify 100% of its waters, five southern municipalities monopolize more than the half of that figure, 141.4 million euros in works already underway or recently awarded: Santiago de Teide, Guía de Isora (these two within the system called Tenerife Oeste), Arona Este (which also includes part of San Miguel de Abona , which also has its own recently awarded project) and Granadilla de Abona. The rest of the projects are those of Acentejo and Valle de La Orotava.
All of this in regard to the agreement signed by the Island Corporation and the mercantile company dependent on the Acuaes State, which is managing the bulk of the objective for Spain to comply with in this matter. Beyond, the Cabildo has made other minor investments.
Of the four works, the most powerful is the one that refers to Arona Este, which contemplates the generation of an entire sanitation system that amounts to a minimum of 63 million euros and whose objective is to solve the problem of wastewater and discharges on the coast of San Miguel, Las Galletas or Palm-Mar, where different outfalls are located.
The jewel in the crown of this project is, without a doubt, the construction of the Montaña Reverón treatment plant, which is already in the construction phase and which alone will cost around 41.5 million euros.
From Tenerife West to Granadilla de Abona, four major works
The works of the sanitation system of Tenerife Oeste were the first to start in the South Region, affecting the municipalities of Santiago del Teide and Guía de Isora, with an investment of 27 million euros, including the median collectors, pumping and the promoters of the coast, the Tenerife West Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant (EDAR) and the Playa San Juan Wastewater Treatment and Pumping Station (ETBAR). The latter is sized for the water generated by 109,000 people.
The works in Granadilla de Abona, meanwhile, will involve an investment of 31 million euros, which is already being developed, with the Los Letrados treatment plant, the ETBAR of Ensenada Pelada, collectors and pumps and impellers.
64 kilometers of pipes
It should not be forgotten, in addition, that in this municipality there is an important zone of marine protection due to the richness of the sebadales, which could be affected by spills.
In the case of Arona, the investment amounts to 63 million euros and is the most important in the entire South Region due to its size, since it will benefit the entire eastern area of Arona, from the midlands, in the town, down to the coast.
It is expected that 64 kilometers of collectors and impellers will be deployed, in addition to the construction of the Montaña Reverón treatment plant, which is already being built. The system is designed for a population of 240,000 inhabitants, with a time horizon that covers up to 2036.
In San Miguel, the work has just been awarded with an investment of 20.4 million euros.
It has been the last of all by Acuaes, which is the state company that is in charge of the work. In this case, it is about the execution of the collectors and impellers to connect with Montaña Reverón.
