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Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 27 (Europa Press)
The spokesperson for the Socialist Group in the Cabildo de Tenerife, Javier Rodríguez Medina, has described the management of the Water Emergency Declaration on the Island as a “failure” and “ineffective” following the announcement of an eight-month extension.
In a statement, he lamented that only 19,707 cubic metres of water from a total of 37,152 (53%) have been added to the water system until February 2025, which indicates that “the water emergency has only had the title of an emergency,” he stated.
In his view, “not only do the figures breed distrust,” but the fact that the council is facing yet another extension without a manager for the public entity Balsas de Tenerife (Balten)—one of the key instruments the Corporation has at its disposal to address the water emergency—is concerning.
“There hasn’t even been a call for applications to fill that position, so we fear the worst,” the spokesperson added.
Rodríguez Medina has emphasised “the excellent work performed by the staff of the Insular Water Council of Tenerife, who, regrettably, lack adequate resources.”
He expressed that “it is unrealistic to expect the same personnel to manage a significantly larger budget, as that will not yield results.”
He reminded that his group supported the emergency declaration despite arguing that “a shock plan involving specific works and investments would be more effective.”
The Socialist Group’s proposal included an investment of 65 million euros to provide the agricultural sector with over 40,000 cubic metres of water in a short timeframe, leveraging the use of portable desalinizers that had previously been employed during the last term.
