“Today I have to give good news, the best news for the primary sector in the south,” commented yesterday on Onda Tenerife, Manuel Marrero, president of the Cumbres de Abona company, referring to “the commitment of the Cabildo, expressed by the counselor Blanca Pérez, to restore the Río dam”, a work carried out in the 1960s – like its sister in Los Campitos – and which never came into full operation due to leaks.
Now, as Marrero announced, “the Cabildo has committed to waterproofing the dam, which would guarantee irrigation water from Fasnia to Adeje,” said someone who has been a firm defender of rehabilitating one of the largest dams in Tenerife (in contrary to the opinion of technicians and politicians), capable of generating “three million pipes and up to double that,” said Manuel Marrero.
The Río Dam is located at 600 meters above sea level on the borders of Arico and Granadilla, collecting water from the ravine of the same name and 11 basins that come from the Guajara heights, with their impressive waterfalls when the thaw arrives. That was the initial idea when it was built, but the volcanic soil, as occurs in Los Campitos, caused continuous water leaks that made it ineffective, in addition to the fact that “water only cost half a peseta per pipe and was not profitable then” , recalls Marrero.
The agreement reached last week by the platform that defends the Río dam with Blanca Pérez and the manager of the Insular Water Council includes the assignment of the project to engineer José Timón, and, according to Manuel Marrero, “everything is already underway.” hurry”, at least to take advantage of “the spilled water until the dam is waterproofed”, a commitment that the president of the Cabildo, Rosa Dávila, has also made, according to what she said.
