The Labour Party is calling for subsidies to prevent water losses in the networks of the 31 municipalities on the Island, which some sources estimate to be as high as 60%. This is one of the measures in the socialist plan against drought, which also includes a set of works to be expedited – the investment would be over 60 million Euros – and initiatives such as the use of portable desalination plants, similar to the one installed during the previous term in Güímar, or continuing with the waterproofing of the Island’s reservoirs, a process started between 2019 and 2023. This was communicated yesterday to the fifteen mayors of the party of the fist and the rose – nearly half of those on the Island (31) – by the general secretary of Tenerife, leader of the Island Group and former president of the Council, Pedro Martín.
Measures to combat drought, the affordable housing crisis, and mobility, with particular emphasis on traffic, were the focus of the meeting, which included representatives from four other municipalities where the Labour Party is involved, bringing the total to 19.
The discussion revolved in large part around the consequences of the drought on the agricultural sector and the possibility that it may also impact the general population’s water supply next summer. Complaints in this area from municipal platforms focus on the lack of infrastructure and the outdated state of some canal systems. This hinders proper management of existing resources “in an already very complex scenario.”
The lack of social housing and mobility issues were the other main topics of the forum
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Other sources reduce the water losses in the network to around 10% or 15%, while acknowledging that there are municipalities where it reaches 60%, particularly in the north of the Island. They appreciate the improvement work in sanitation and sewer systems carried out in recent years in municipalities like Santa Cruz or La Laguna, although in some areas, residential properties are not yet connected to the sewer system. The socialists propose direct intervention from the Council with the necessary funding to address these works where needed, although they would be carried out by the municipalities.
Other topics discussed yesterday were “the lack of resources” allocated to housing by CC and PP in the Council, or “the lack of progress on road projects, which were left designed by the government group led by the Labour Party,” presided over by Pedro Martín (2019-2023).
Martín urges the Island Government, now responsible for this area, to “seize the opportunity to invest in social housing along with the municipalities and thereby ease the serious situation in Tenerife.” He considers it “necessary” to push for “changes to the program initiated by CC and PP with just five million Euros.” He describes it as “not ambitious enough” and “outdated” compared to the decree by the Canarian Government, which grants new powers to the Councils.
Regarding Mobility, Pedro Martín highlighted “the inefficacy” of the measures announced by the President of the Council, Rosa Dávila, who “opts for quick fixes here and there, with ideas like closing access to the TF-5 from Guamasa, instead of pushing forward projects like the La Laguna bypass.”
The Labour Party presides over the municipal councils of Adeje, Arico, Buenavista del Norte, Candelaria, Fasnia, Granadilla de Abona, La Laguna, La Matanza, Puerto de la Cruz, Los Silos, Tacoronte, El Tanque, Tegueste, La Victoria and Vilaflor. It is involved in the management of Garachico, La Guancha, Güímar, and Icod de los Vinos. Two of these municipalities, Fasnia and Arico, have already implemented measures to restrict water usage due to severe drought and lack of water resources connected to their networks.
