Over the years, the high levels of contamination in the water supply of La Guancha and certain elevated areas of Icod de los Vinos raised concerns, led to specific water supply shutdowns, and prompted actions to address the issue in the medium and long term. Towards the end of the 20th century and the start of the 21st, authorities decided to construct a desalination plant (EDAS) for treating brackish groundwater (not seawater). It was envisioned as a state-of-the-art facility, located in the Icodense region of El Reventón (between El Amparo and Cueva del Viento), designed to treat liquid from the Hoya del Cedro and Vergara galleries (as well as from the connecting canal, amounting to 4,000 cubic meters per day). The water processed was intended for generating clean energy, irrigating fields (especially banana plantations) in Los Silos and Buenavista, with a price tag of £4 million.
It was indeed built: it was designed towards the end of the 90s, near completion in 2002, inaugurated in 2004, and yet, it has remained inactive for two decades, facing numerous promises of definitive operation and ongoing blame games between different parties, pointing fingers at each other for this wasteful or rather poorly planned venture.
The signage that still stands, with the State’s previous contributions being replaced by newer ones, presents this EDAS as a joint project between the Insular Water Council and the municipalities of Daute-Isla Baja: Icod, Garachico, Los Silos, El Tanque, and Buenavista. After more than 20 years of disuse, no one takes responsibility.
This isn’t a case akin to the “ghost” airports like Ciudad Real (a billion euros investment, closed from 2012 to 2020, eventually repurposed into an industrial aerodrome), Lérida (€95 million, now hosting 4 flights per week and functioning as a restaurant), the second runway in Málaga (€600 million), or the controversial airports in Albacete, Córdoba, Huesca, León, Logroño, or Salamanca. While air transport is crucial, the situation with this plant is distinct due to it concerning such a fundamental resource as water, essential for human consumption.
Nevertheless, the outcome is comparable, as over these 20 years, except for sporadic cleaning instances, the facility has mainly been taken over by weeds of various kinds, even invasive species, such as the notorious “stink” weed, thriving in many areas both inside and especially along the perimeter fence. The fence and gates, secured with multiple locks, have rarely seen any operator behind them, leading to overgrowth in certain sections, acting as natural shading, particularly on the steepest stretch of the road leading to Montiel.
A common saying suggests that 20 years is a short span, but in this case, there have been recurrent water shortages due to excessive fluoride, like the incident on March 20, 2012, when Icod limited water usage due to elevated fluoride levels, posing health hazards in areas such as Cueva del Viento, Lomo Las Lajas, La Patita, El Pedregal, Los Piquetes, La Florida, Fuente La Vega, La Vega, and El Amparo.
What is the current status? The desalination plant remains idle and untouched. The cypress trees planted over two decades ago have flourished, resembling an abandoned graveyard, which in a sense is an apt description for the infrastructure that encompasses them. Weeds persist as frequent inhabitants, while authorities announce the quest for solutions, albeit without a definitive resolution in sight for now.
That’s the information conveyed at least to DIARIO DE AVISOS on Thursday by the councillor responsible for the Environment, Primary Sector, Livestock, Agriculture, Fisheries, and Industry at the City of Drago, Marcos Hernández (Alternative Icodense), who had discussions “a few years back” with the Island Council. In those conversations, it was disclosed that the primary issue, at least until the previous summer, was the high aluminum content in the water intended for treatment, particularly from the Hoya del Cedro gallery. This led to frequent membrane ruptures, rendering the water almost unusable.
As per Hernández, the Cabildo mulled over transferring the equipment to the Balsas de Tenerife company for exclusive agricultural applications “as it was deemed unsuitable for human consumption”. Nonetheless, this alternative appears unfeasible, and instead, focus now shifts towards “a trial initiative to diminish aluminum content.”
What stands evident is that this saga stands as a stark example of flawed planning and reckless spending, serving as a cautionary tale “regarding substandard upkeep” and the escalating presence of invasive flora.
Conversely, the Cabildo pointed out yesterday that this “trial project”, in collaboration with the Aqualia company, holds an “international” dimension and that the recent pivot in strategy over the summer involved redirecting water from the Hoya del Cedro to the South with Balten and the gallery proprietors’ cooperation. This redirected flow was channelled to the Lomo del Balo reservoir “and services Guía de Isora and Santiago del Teide for irrigation following a blend with water from the Fonsalía desalination plant, achieving full utilisation.”
The Island Council asserts that this measure wasn’t enacted earlier “due to the absence of the said desalination plant, and presently, with the water emergency declaration, there’s an opportunity for further enhancement.” Meanwhile, the dormant Icod plant remains in limbo, although they underline that this “international project” will pave the way for future “reversible electrodialysis to treat the aluminum-laden water, as promising results have been obtained.” However, this proposal was originally touted in 2022 by the preceding administration, yet there’s no set deadline for its implementation yet, which also delays the plant’s potential activation.
Furthermore, they underscore that in 2003, the regulations pertaining to fluoride became more stringent, and the plant’s technology never attained the capability to address both fluoride and aluminum adequately, casting doubts on the foresight behind the equipment which was once touted as unparalleled and ultra-modern. Meanwhile, the agricultural sectors of Daute-Isla Baja are still awaiting the crucial support from this infrastructure, marking another glaring misappropriation.
A chronicle of proclamations and rebukes, sans accountability
Throughout these over 20 years, the issue surrounding the EDAS at El Reventón has been exploited by various political factions, whether in power or in the opposition, to shift blame for its non-operational status and thereby the squandered funds and faulty prognostication it embodies.
One such instance was the censure levied by the PSOE in the Cabildo in November 2010, where the then councillor Juan Miguel Martín Zarza, representing Icodense under the socialist administration of Juan José Dorta, accused the insular government (CC) of this monument to inadequate planning, notwithstanding being marketed in 2004 as one of the most cutting-edge desalination and power generation complexes globally, per Ricardo Melchior’s accolades as the then president. The Water Minister at that time, Pedro Suárez (PP), presently serving as president of the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, attributed the non-usage to “the lack of demand for treated water, chiefly from the municipal councils, and the complications relating to the extension of an underwater discharge on San Marcos beach due to societal resistance.” He clarified that there were no technical hindrances on the facility’s part.
In April 2011, the Mayor of Icod at that time, Diego Afonso (CC), pointed fingers at the General Directorate of Coasts of the Spanish Government (PSOE) for denying approval for the discharge expansion (costing €235,726), despite an agreement among other administrations (regional, insular, and local – all under CC’s purview). One year later, in November 2012, the island’s Water councillor, Jesús Morales (CC, later forming an alliance with PSOE’s Aurelio Abreu), voiced his exasperation at Costas and the central government’s indifference towards the matter concerning this facility, once again with the discharge expansion issue in the backdrop.
The most recent significant announcement came on March 7, 2022, when the Insular Water Council inked a partnership pact with Aqualia to set up a nanofiltration pilot unit within this facility (currently operational) to tackle the aluminum dilemma in the Hoya del Cedro gallery’s flow, exceeding 800 pipes per hour. This initiative was hailed by the then Minister overseeing Sustainable Development and Climate Change combat, Javier Rodríguez (PSOE), affirming that similar progress had been achieved for locales such as Icod’s elevated regions, Cruz de Tarifes, and Aripe.
