The Cabildo will prepare a preliminary study of the irrigation system for the mid-range area of Arico and Granadilla de Abona. In the same “the use of the El Río dam is included», he assures Blanca Perezisland advisor of Natural Environment, Sustainability, Security and Emergencies.
The medians of Fasnia, Arico and Granadilla de Abona reflect a situation of «continuous abandonment of cultivation areas». The fact is a consequence “of the scarcity of water resources.” In this framework, the island Government understands that “the need arises to study the irrigation of the region».
To this end, the creation of support irrigation networks is proposed «using the irrigation water flows currently available in the area, as well as the reuse of regenerated purified water from Santa Cruz», defends counselor Pérez Delgado.
The preliminary study in question will be based on the possibility of raising flows of regenerated purified water from the future pond that Arico will have for storage to the head tanks of the existing networks in the region. That is, until the network of the Arico Cooperativethe median networks of the municipality, the network of the Cocarmen regional Cooperative, the private downspouts of crop farms that demand a significant amount of water, etc.
Another requirement that will be included in the preliminary study is the one referring to the delivery of regenerated water to the future headwater regulation tank of the future network of medians of the region. –this is a tank that is proposed for new construction– or, according to Banca Pérez, “by taking advantage of the El Río dam, waterproofing a part of its basin, if the action is viable, or by integrating the dam as a weir to capture runoff. That is, it is about determining whether waterproofing the El Río dam is viable – taking into account parameters such as filtration and the cost of the work, among others – or, if it is considered not, using the place to capture rainwater.
An endless story
The preparation of a feasibility study on the rehabilitation of the El Río dam It is a demand raised by the then mayors Arturo Gonzalez (San Miguel de Abona), José Domingo Regalado (Granadilla de Abona) and Sebastian Martin (Arico) to the competent administrations in April 2021. The objective was to launch the technical mechanisms that clear the future of said infrastructure.
The El Río dam was designed to take advantage of the water that flows through the ravine of the same name that serves as the limit between Arico and Granadilla de Abona, into which eleven basins flow. Located about 600 meters above sea level, it has the capacity to store three million water pipes, equivalent to one and a half million cubic meters. It was built during the 1960s by the Economic Command of Canary Islands (MEC), an institution that was established in the Archipelago in 1941. It was never in operation because its construction was not completed.
The former Councilor for Agriculture of Arico and current president of the Cumbres de Abona Regional Winery, Manuel Marrero, leads this demand from the agricultural sector of the municipality and the region.
