The water supply to the 24,200 inhabitants of Icod de los Vinos is facing a critical situation. The northern council has been forced to cut off the water supply at night since 18 July, a measure that will continue for the coming days due to serious problems in the municipal network and increased consumption, which has doubled as a result of the high temperatures. Interruptions are occurring between 23:00 and 06:00 throughout the municipality, including the town centre.
The serious deficiencies of the system have caused a considerable reduction in the storage of the 18 tanks in Icod, especially in the main one, Candelaria. Municipal sources confirmed this Friday that the volume of these tanks does not exceed 30%. The main problem lies in an obsolete network, riddled with deficiencies accumulated over the years, which causes a loss of 60% of the water throughout the cycle. This has resulted in the volume of water consumed by residents being greater than what enters these stores.
The mayor of Icod de los Vinos, Javier Sierra, admits that the situation is “critical” and that his government team had no choice but to adopt such a drastic measure as night cuts. Sierra clarifies that “this is not a situation caused by this municipal government, but it is our obligation to respond to this serious problem that is the result of more than 20 years of inaction in network investments.” “For now, as an immediate solution, we have been forced to enact night cuts to guarantee supply during the day, but residents should be clear that this team will mark the before and after in water management,” he emphasised.
Nighttime interruptions began on 18 July and will extend into the coming days
The council has accelerated improvement works on the pipes through which drinking water flows to reduce leak levels that are much higher than in other towns in Tenerife. In addition to these losses, there are other inconveniences in the Icod network: the fact that the tanks lack connections allowing some to compensate for the lack of water in others, and the lack of sectorisation and meters in this network of conduits, which prevents knowing exactly where the worst losses occur.
The 18 tanks are at less than 30% of their capacity and leaks across the municipal network are around 60%
The council has deployed a team of workers in search of leaks. Meanwhile, they are renewing the pipes in areas such as Marcos Bethencourt and Castro streets, where municipal personnel were working this Friday. In parallel, the government team is asking for support and understanding from residents, as well as requesting that they reduce consumption to essential tasks. These restrictions come at a time when the island has been under a water emergency for 14 months, a declaration initiated by the Cabildo on 29 May 2024 after 200 consecutive weeks of drought.
Other restrictions and advice
In anticipation of a spike in water consumption among the population with the arrival of summer, the mayor issued a decree on 2 July prohibiting the use of drinking water for irrigation of gardens, vegetable plots, and other green areas, as well as the filling of swimming pools and washing vehicles outside of authorised establishments with water recycling systems. Street cleaning, sidewalks, patios, and façades are also prohibited from being washed.
Icod de los Vinos pleads with the population to apply basic household savings measures, such as showering instead of bathing, turning off the tap while shaving or brushing teeth, avoiding rinsing dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, or collecting in a bucket and using the water that comes out of the tap while it heats up.
Water restrictions reach Tenerife II prison
Restrictions on the use of drinking water have reached Tenerife II prison, located in the municipality of El Rosario. Tap water is only being used in the cells, and tasks such as watering the gardens and other green areas have been suspended. This measure came after the El Rosario council requested that the Secretary General of Penitentiary Institutions, the department of the Ministry of the Interior managing Spanish prisons, implement water-saving measures and improve its supply network and tanks, as maintaining this summer’s winter consumption level for Tenerife II would affect the public network of the municipality and could even force drastic measures for residents. These limitations, which have already been implemented in the Tenerife prison, follow a decree issued by the mayor of El Rosario, Escolástico Gil, establishing restrictions on drinking water consumption throughout the municipality. Filling pools and washing vehicles are prohibited, and residents are urged to minimise household consumption. El Rosario joins five other municipalities that have already adopted similar measures: Icod de los Vinos, Los Silos, San Juan de la Rambla, La Guancha, and Buenavista del Norte. | E. D.
