The Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council has put in place a plan of action for the Southwest, Central-Ifara, and Anaga districts to address the water emergency by implementing a system with three levels that will dictate water usage restrictions based on the reservoirs’ storage capacity.
The green level implies no restrictions on water consumption, while the orange and red levels will introduce various restrictions and prohibitions as outlined by Public Services Councillor, Carlos Tarife, who, along with Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez, unveiled the measures following the declaration of a water emergency on the island.
Bermúdez stated that the City Council, in collaboration with the Empresa Mixta de Aguas de Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Emmasa), has been working on measures to promote responsible drinking water consumption.
According to the system established by the City Council, if the drinking water storage in the reservoirs is at 45% or above, Santa Cruz will be in a favourable position without any restrictions. The orange indication on the water traffic light signals an intermediate level when storage is between 25% and 45%.
In this scenario, the council will notify the restrictions on the use of drinking water for street cleaning, public and private bathing areas, vehicle washing, sports areas, and consumption in the port area. It will also lead to the closure of public fountains.
A red water traffic light signals storage levels below 25%, indicating a need for a significant adjustment in the city’s drinking water usage with restrictions progressing to outright prohibitions,” explained the Public Services Councillor.
When storage falls below 25%, restrictions will include the use of drinking water in beach showers, street cleaning, closure of public fountains, prohibition of filling pools, car washing, watering of parks and gardens, consumption in shopping centres, and reduced water pressure in the network.
Juan Fernando Cano, head of the Public Services department, mentioned the temporary measures taken last year post-fire incident to augment water supply in the Southwest district through a desalination plant. A pipeline now delivers 1,200 cubic metres of desalinated water daily.
Efforts are also underway to double the desalinated water production capacity from the plant, with plans to increase from 28,000 to 40,000 cubic metres per day, aiming for 60,000 cubic metres in the future,” Cano stated.
Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez stressed that these measures will be implemented transparently, with information disseminated through regular channels.
The City Council appeals for the cooperation of citizens, and the active involvement of businesses, hotels, restaurants, and families in the municipality.
