The Tenerife branch of the PSOE has accused the Cabildo of failing to increase the water supply despite the ongoing drought. Socialist councillor Javier Parrilla stated, “The severe drought situation in Tenerife and the resulting water emergency declaration have not led to an expansion in water resources available for agriculture. This goes against the plans made by the previous socialist government and the Socialist Group’s support for the government led by Rosa Dávila.”
Parrilla believes that the President’s announcements in response to the challenges faced by Tenerife farmers are merely for publicity, with little actual impact.
“The Tenerife Island Council has not allocated any additional water to the primary sector since declaring a water emergency. The forecast is that only 24 million cubic meters will be available this year, falling short of the over 30 million planned by the previous PSOE government under Pedro Martín. This plan included expanding the Adeje-Arona wastewater treatment plant,” the socialists emphasised.
Parrilla highlights that the Socialist Group had conditioned their support for the water emergency declaration on urgent measures to supply water for agriculture. One of the critical initiatives was the use of portable desalination plants to provide irrigation water quickly and cost-effectively.
In February, the PSOE outlined a plan to increase agricultural water supply by 40,000 cubic meters per day, with a €65 million investment. The Cabildo later announced its intention to declare a water emergency, which took three months to implement.
The Council’s shock plan included proposals from the socialists, particularly the use of portable desalination plants.
However, “the repeated delays and postponement of measures have led to the island president and councillor Blanca Pérez announcing that only 24 million cubic meters of water will be available for this summer. This falls short of what the previous socialist government had planned due to the expansion of the Adeje-Arona WWTP from 15,000 to 40,000 m³ per day, initially scheduled for completion in December 2023,” she added.
The PSOE highlights that the island’s reservoirs are currently only at 32% capacity, with a mere 1.5 million cubic meters available, exacerbating an already critical situation for farmers and impacting water availability for human consumption.
