The Cabildo of Tenerife and the Canarian Federation of Municipalities (FECAM) entered into an agreement on Monday aimed at modernising the supply networks and minimising losses across 12 municipalities on the island, each with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants.
This agreement involves an investment of 2 million euros, enabling the municipalities involved to obtain technical and financial assistance to implement improvements that had previously been unachievable due to constrained resources.
Approximately 81,000 individuals will benefit from this agreement, as noted by the president of the Tenerife Cabildo, Rosa Dávila.
The municipalities set to benefit include Buenavista del Norte, Fasnia, Garachico, La Guancha, La Matanza de Acentejo, El Rosario, San Juan de la Rambla, Santa Úrsula, Los Silos, El Tanque, La Victoria de Acentejo, and Vilaflor de Chasna.
The Tenerife Cabildo will allocate funding to each municipality based on the distribution criteria established by the Canary Islands Municipal Financing Fund.
“Since the declaration of a water emergency by the Tenerife Cabildo, we recognised that an essential aspect to address was the enhancement of supply systems and the reduction of losses in municipalities with under 20,000 inhabitants, many of which manage these services directly,” Dávila stated.
The island’s president highlighted that a significant proportion of the issue originates from outdated supply networks, which necessitates inter-municipal collaboration to address the concerns faced by the less populated municipalities of Tenerife.
The support provided to municipalities will encompass the adoption of remote control technologies for accurately monitoring water losses and installing flow meters to optimise water usage and minimise leaks.
The president of FECAM, Mari Brito, elaborated on the necessity of “close collaboration” with the smaller municipalities, particularly amid a water emergency, while also advocating for heightened awareness and support for municipalities requiring assistance to advance their projects.
“Progress is unattainable without this collaboration in a matter as vital as supplying drinking water to municipalities,” he asserted.
Mari Brito expressed joy regarding the receipt of this funding, which will enable municipalities to upgrade their piping and employ technology for more precise leak detection, noting that “in many instances, losses can exceed 50% in certain sections.”
Icod de los Vinos has required “unique treatment”, with losses surpassing 50%, and even reaching over 60%, necessitating a tailored plan for the municipality to address the situation, according to Rosa Dávila.
Conversely, municipalities with populations exceeding 20,000, particularly those run by companies, often maintain loss rates of 80 to 90% (of water not lost), which are regarded as “optimal or excellent levels,” he clarified.
Pérez asserted that “much of what is termed losses may sometimes not be losses”, particularly concerning connections to the network, thereby emphasising the need for advanced technological systems to better discern the pathways of water and where excessive consumption occurs.
As such, the loss and sanitation situation in Tenerife “is not worse than the other islands,” yet it has been observed that, in earlier times, “it was reported as it was,” which subsequently establishes the groundwork for island-interest works and utilisation of European funds to intervene in sanitation networks.
The aim of the Tenerife Cabildo with this recent agreement is to “achieve over 80% efficiency in non-loss water”, ensuring that the water entering the system is accounted for in terms of its usage, billing, and tracking its direction,” stressed President Rosa Dávila.
This agreement, signed on Monday, forms part of the strategy encompassed in the water emergency decree sanctioned on May 29, which facilitates the implementation of 75 specific measures aimed at tackling the water scarcity, inclusive of 34 emergency projects to enhance production and distribution.
