Tenerife is set to host the XIV International Congress of AEDyR (Spanish Desalination and Reuse Association) in June 2025, under the theme ‘60 years of innovation in desalination and reuse‘. The event will commemorate 60 years of desalination in Spain and, among other topics, will analyse the technological development that has positioned our country and Spanish companies as leaders in desalination and reuse around the world.
The initiative was presented today, Tuesday, by the Vice President of the Cabildo, Lope Afonso, accompanied by the Minister of Primary Sector, Valentín González, the First Deputy Mayor of the City Council of Santa Cruz, Carlos Tarife, and the president of AEDyR, Domingo Zarzo.
The Congress, held every two years, will bring together national and international experts in desalination, reuse, and water treatment from companies across the value chain of the sector, public institutions, universities, and research centres, with the aim of “promoting collaboration and the exchange of knowledge and experiences”. The latest research, innovations, and technological advances related to these water resource utilization techniques will be presented.
Lope Afonso highlighted that “this event positions Tenerife and Canary Islands as an international reference in this field.” Afonso referred to the water emergency situation in which Tenerife finds itself and stated, “Hosting this Congress is very important for our island because it involves facilitating spaces for dialogues and drawing conclusions on possible solutions that, from a technical standpoint, can be put into practice to mitigate the effects of drought on the population and agriculture in Tenerife.”
On the other hand, the Minister of Primary Sector of the Cabildo highlighted that “for both this institution and BALTEN, as an associated company, participating in this XIV International Congress is a challenge and an opportunity,” adding that “we will have on our island the most relevant professionals and companies in desalination and water reuse, which will allow us to firsthand knowledge of the advances and emerging technologies at a national and global level in this field.”
Carlos Tarife, the First Deputy Mayor of the City Council of Santa Cruz, emphasized “the need for collaboration between the public administration and the private sector to address the water emergency situation in Tenerife.”
Domingo Zarzo, the president of AEDyR, pointed out that “one of the main reasons for choosing Tenerife as the venue for its XIV International Congress is that the Canary Islands have been a benchmark in the use of desalinated and reclaimed water for human consumption and agricultural use since 1964 (when the first desalination plant was installed in Lanzarote). Zarzo stressed that “through the experience of these six decades, knowledge has been generated that has helped position Spain as a leader in the development of these solutions, innovating and exporting to countries around the world.”
Zarzo also highlighted that “without the water provided to the islands by desalination and reuse, the significant development of the tourism industry and agriculture would not have been possible.” In fact, “Canary Islands is the autonomous community with the highest number of desalination plants of over 10,000 m3/day (21 in total), with a desalination capacity of 485,200 m3/day, in addition to countless facilities of smaller capacity.”
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Domingo Zarzo also noted that the island has “excellent conditions” regarding hotel facilities, spaces for presentations, and air connections, “which will make the participants’ stay very comfortable and allow them to enjoy leisure moments as well.” He also thanked “the facilities that the Cabildo de Tenerife has provided to AEDyR for the organization of this forum, which will mobilise dozens of people, as it is the most important and influential periodic event in Europe on desalination and water reuse”.
