SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 7 Jan. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The agreement signed between the Cabildo de Tenerife and Aguas de las Cuencas de España (Acuaes) has awarded more than 153 of the 200 million euros it has, which represents more than 8 out of 10 euros of those planned for these works and that seek to solve the problem of wastewater discharges on the Island.
The president of the Cabildo, Pedro Martín, has informed that since 2020 works are already being carried out in the five large purification systems projected on the Island, which will result in the elimination of wastewater discharges into the sea and the subsoil.
According to the island president, this is “magnificent news because it indicates that a new door to purification is opening on the Island, based on sustainability and that it will provide agriculture with a new resource from reclaimed water, as is already being done in Valle Guerra.
Pedro Martín reiterated that the treatment of wastewater on the island “was in a critical state, something that could not be allowed in any way and on which the focus has been placed during these four years.”
In this regard, he stressed that the implementation of the agreement with Acuaes “has given a real boost to that objective because Tenerife cannot afford to continue being penalized for not having a purification policy in keeping with the times.”
“Four years ago we found ourselves in a bleak panorama, made up of works without a project, obsolete installations, filter grids and outdated pipes and we have started up once and for all, not in a speech but in reality, with shovels and constructions, a network that in a few years will give a true oxygen balloon to the Island, which was plunged into a catastrophic situation as far as water treatment is concerned,” said Martín.
For his part, the Minister of Sustainable Development and the Fight Against Climate Change, Javier Rodríguez, remarked that this is how the pieces of this “important and decisive” project are being completed to ensure that the island of Tenerife has a water purification system according to with the population and current characteristics.
Javier Rodríguez highlighted the effort that the Insular Water Council and the Cabildo are making to implement “a real plan that addresses the generation of wastewater, transforming and regenerating it for agricultural use and subtracting from dumping into the polluted sea waters”.
WORKS IN PROGRESS
Among the latest advances in the agreement with Acuaes, the start-up of works on the Arona-San Miguel system stands out, the largest project included in this agreement.
“Work is already being done on four collectors and drives that will send the wastewater flow from the region to the future treatment plant that will be located in Arona, two in the municipality of Arona and two in San Miguel de Abona, and that will cost slightly more than 40 million euros, and its completion is scheduled for May 2024,” said the counselor.
Regarding the treatment plant of this system, he indicated that the works “have not yet started because they are waiting for the necessary archaeological studies for their beginning.” More than 22 million euros will be invested in this new plant, which will begin shortly, and once the works begin, it is expected to be completed in 30 months, Rodríguez specified.
For the rest, the agreement with Acuaes contemplates the systems of Acentejo, Valle de La Orotava, Granadilla and Oeste, all of them with works in progress
