The Cabildo of Tenerife approved the water crisis on the Island on the 1st of March in a historic decision, following the steps of other islands like La Gomera, which announced the same on the 20th of July 2022. The island authorities view this measure as crucial to alleviate the drought, the ongoing decline in water levels in reservoirs and aquifers, and the challenges faced by densely populated areas and the agricultural sector.
Scarce water for irrigation and consumption restrictions in Tenerife amidst plans for a new city and additional hotels
Following the Cabildo’s decision, municipalities on the island such as Fasnia, Arico, and Icod de los Vinos have imposed restrictions on the use of potable water in their networks, particularly concerning the watering of gardens, orchards, trees, sports facilities, or washing cars on the streets, among others. Despite the technical and political consensus on the severity of the situation, an expert with a background in Roads, Canals, and Ports, Carlos Soler, a Hydraulic and Energy specialist, has emerged to challenge this standpoint. He contends that projects such as the desalination plants in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife province are driven solely by financial motives, with “evident political collusion.” This former University of La Laguna professor, with an illustrious career in hydraulic engineering, argues that the rush towards desalination plants in the province is unjustified, as aquifers still hold abundant water reserves that could be optimally utilised, highlighting that “official data, such as those from the Tenerife Cabildo, indicate that 70% of rainwater is wasted.”
Undoubtedly, his recent appearances in various media outlets have stirred controversy. Minister Blanca Pérez of the Cabildo de Tenerife’s Department of Natural Environment, Sustainability, Security, and Emergencies acknowledges Soler’s expertise but questions his stance. She stresses that the new desalination plants proposed for Tenerife, along with purification facilities and other measures, are imperative due to the critical and deteriorating water situation, particularly with the upcoming summer and future forecasts. She expressed, “I cannot predict the weather for the next two years, but currently, the water crisis necessitated prompt action due to the annual 5% depletion in reserves and the evident drought since 2016.” This was stated in an interview with Canarias Ahora.
“The motive behind Soler’s campaign is unclear, but if he relies on data from the Tenerife Hydrological Plan, he should consider all aspects, given that the loss has been quantified.” Pérez referred to a recent study by the public entity Balten, which confirmed a 5% recovery in certain reservoirs following recent rains, yet the overall situation is deteriorating, particularly in the La Orotava Valley and the northwest region (areas including Icod de los Vinos and Isla Baja), where reserves have dipped by 20% compared to the same period in 2023.
The councillor emphasised the necessity of new desalination and purification plants to supplement water supply (via desalination) in highly populated coastal regions, which face heightened pressures due to tourism facilities and population growth. Areas such as the metropolitan region, the Arona and Adeje coast, and Puerto de la Cruz in the north specifically require this intervention. Moreover, she pointed out that towns heavily reliant on agriculture like Vilaflor, Fasnia, Arico, and the upper Güímar Valley “do not practice dry farming but require substantial water resources; hence the need to prevent Fasnia’s water resources from catering to the densely populated areas of Granadilla de Abona.”
The best preventive was to make normal subsector work, that’s why develop new hotels for alternate guests and plans to grow in international currency now was not in the favor of better benefit of towns or local commerce. Better use of natural resources should always be priority over impulsive developmental projects harmful for environment, argued the expert.
for instance, utilising what can be purified for agriculture. We are not behind schedule nor too premature with the desalination plants,” she affirms. “We have taken action based on scientific proof and data.”
Over 300 million Euros invested in desalination and treatment facilities
The upcoming treatment facilities for the Island will require an investment of 216 million Euros, which, combined with the 90 million Euros earmarked for the desalination plants, brings the total expense planned for this significant transformation to exceed 300 million Euros. According to Pérez, the goal is to ensure that 60% of the water consumed on the Island from 2027 originates from these alternatives, while the remaining 40% will continue to be supplied by the aquifer, existing reservoirs, and networks.
The five new desalination plants slated for installation will be situated in the Güímar industrial estate, Mesa del Mar (providing desalinated water to La Laguna and Tacoronte), Valle de Guerra (Northeast), Granadilla, and Fonsalía. Noteworthy treatment facilities, aside from the existing ones, include those in Santa Cruz, Arona-Este San Miguel, Granadilla, Valle de La Orotava, and Acentejo, among others.
Following a similar approach, and contradicting Soler’s arguments, representatives from the councils of El Hierro and La Gomera voice their opinions to Canarias Ahora. In the case of Isla Colombina, a desalination plant is planned in San Sebastián, another in Playa Santiago, and one later on in Valle Gran Rey, all proposed by the regional government. As emphasized, the emergency declaration made in July 2022 was more than justified by the observed water stress, which has only exacerbated and compelled us to prepare for even graver future crises. According to the Gomero Cabildo, and in contrast to Soler’s assertions, these facilities will distribute generated water to any part of the Island via the existing network.
In El Hierro, on the other hand, Soler’s arguments are also refuted, and plans are underway to install three portable desalination plants to tackle the current water scarcity, a measure outlined in the island’s strategy and deemed entirely justified due to salinization of the reserves resulting from gallery exploitation, coupled with the persistent drought.
Disagreeing with these decisions, Soler contends that he solely relies on official data and asserts that the experts endorsing the deployment of desalination plants “do so either due to ignorance or for ulterior motives; If not, it is incomprehensible.” As he highlights, “and to support my stance, I refer to data from Juan José Braojos – a hydrologist and Public Works engineer, known for his expertise in Tenerife’s aquifer and galleries, who claims that, since 2014, Tenerife has lost the equivalent of 63 Los Campitos dams in Santa Cruz: about 170 cubic hectometers), “the water situation on this Island has remained stable since 1927. There have been drought periods, yes, like the current one, but they have occurred in the past as well, and I have no data or evidence suggesting that this equilibrium will be disrupted in the future.” he underscores, “the Tenerife aquifer has not depleted by more than 10% since 1927.”
Furthermore, although he acknowledges that data from the last decade (since 2014) corroborate Braojos’s findings (an engineer who opted not to contribute to this information), “what is often overlooked is that 2012 witnessed the highest rainfall and aquifer replenishment of the entire series since 1925.” In his view, by optimising rainwater usage and galleries, along with enhancing networks to prevent current losses “this utilisation could increase from the official data’s cited 30%” and would prove that, in his perspective, Desalination plants remain unnecessary in these territories, presenting a stark contrast to sustainability as they demand a significant energy outlay and are primarily driven by economic motives due to their substantial monetary implications.”
Reflecting on the historical trajectory of the Islands, Soler believes the longstanding use of desalination in Fuerteventura is justified, to a lesser extent in Lanzarote, “as there exists an aquifer there, albeit encountering greater obstacles due to its constituents”, while suggesting that the approach could have been altered in Gran Canaria. “I am not insinuating they are unnecessary on these islands today, but they are undoubtedly dispensable in the province of Tenerife. For instance, in La Gomera, merely a kilometre-long pipeline is needed to harness water from the aquifer in the La Negra area and, subsequently, supply the entire Island through simple gravity, without additional energy consumption,” he contends. In El Hierro’s case, he advocates for new galleries instead of the proposed desalination plants.
