The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and La Graciosa and of the Water Consortium, Oswaldo Betancort, together with the Minister of Waters, Domingo Cejas, have met with the residents of Máguez to inform about the evolution of the water supply in the north of the island, after the Water Consortium assumed the integral water cycle of Lanzarote after seizing the service from Canal Gestión Lanzarote.
The meeting, held at the Máguez Sociocultural Center at the request of the Neighborhood Association of the town and attended by the manager of the Water Consortium and most of the island's government team, allowed for an assessment of the improvements recorded in recent weeks, especially after the commissioning of the new North Line to the Arrieta reservoir, an infrastructure that is already allowing for improved water distribution in this area of Lanzarote.
"We are not here to say that all the problems are solved. We are here to explain that we are advancing, that the neighbors are already perceiving that improvement, and that we are going to continue working until we achieve a stable and quality supply for the entire north of the island," assured the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort.
During the meeting, it was explained that the entry into service of this infrastructure has allowed for a significant reduction in supply interruptions that for months affected towns such as Máguez and Haría. However, the heads of the Water Consortium insisted that the North Line is not yet completed.
In this regard, they recalled that the infrastructure currently carries water to the Arrieta reservoir, but the last section of pumping between that reservoir and the north of the municipality of Haría still remains to be executed. This action will allow for the definitive completion of the North Line and consolidate a structural improvement of the supply for Máguez, Haría, and the rest of the northern towns.
Domingo Cejas explained that, while that action is being completed, the system is already being reinforced through Line 2 of El Mojón, which currently sends around 80 cubic meters of water per hour to the north of the island to supply towns such as Haría, Máguez, Ye, and Guinate. Likewise, he pointed out that the capacity of the La Atalaya reservoir, currently 500 cubic meters, is insufficient for the needs of the area, which is why the Water Consortium is already working on the tender for a new reservoir that will allow its capacity to be increased to 1,500 or even 2,000 cubic meters, thus improving the autonomy and stability of the supply.
The Minister of Water specified to those present that the improvement of the supply also responds to the increase in the production capacity of drinking water and to the different actions that have been carried out since the declaration of the water emergency, both in terms of production and renovation of hydraulic infrastructures.
"We are aware that there is still a long way to go, but today we can talk about a much more favorable situation than just a few weeks ago. The distribution of water for the conejeros is no longer decided in Madrid; now it is up to us to assume the successes and also the mistakes, and that is why we continue working to eliminate the structural problems that this network has suffered for many years," said Domingo Cejas.
Cejas also recalled that the Consortium continues to carry out strategic actions to reinforce the island's hydraulic system in other parts of the island, such as Tahíche, Guatiza, Mala, and Charco del Palo, within the plan for the renovation and modernization of supply infrastructures.
Agricultural irrigation project for the north
During the question and answer session, Domingo Cejas explained that the improvement in supply is already being reflected in a significant reduction in incidents recorded in Máguez, where currently the largest number of complaints comes from the primary sector, which continues to demand greater availability of water for agricultural activity. In this context, residents demanded greater availability of water for the countryside and raised the possibility of developing an irrigation project in the municipality of Haría similar to the one currently being carried out in Tinajo.
The president of the Cabildo announced that the Insular Corporation is already working and has a project very advanced, similar to the one that is about to be inaugurated in the northwest area of the island for the supply of agricultural water. “Before the end of the year, the Ministry of Agriculture and the public company SEIASA will have the preliminary study of the project to do the same as what is being completed in Tinajo and Teguise: desalination plant with wind energy, storage tank, agricultural networks... The objective is to obtain state and European financing to provide the north with its own irrigation network.”
The attendees also expressed their concern about the lack of pressure in some points of the network and the fact that Máguez continues to suffer two days a week without supply compared to other areas of the island. They also proposed studying the recovery and use of the cisterns of La Corona and Ye as support for the supply system.
Likewise, they requested more detailed information about scheduled outages through the website of the Water Consortium. Information that, they were told, is already on the website of Aguas de Lanzarote y La Graciosa, which has also incorporated a search engine that provides information by locality and which can be checked at the following link:
Security to prevent theft in the countryside
In addition to water, the residents took advantage of the meeting to convey various demands related to the future of the municipality to the president of the Cabildo. Among them, they highlighted the need to reinforce security in agricultural holdings due to the increase in thefts in the countryside, a concern about which Oswaldo Betancort explained the actions the Institution is undertaking with the Government Delegation to reinforce the presence of personnel and improve coordination between the different security forces.
During the meeting, a follow-up was also carried out on the subsidy of 200,000 euros granted by the Cabildo to the Haría City Council for the repair of agricultural roads, an action highly demanded by the primary sector that will improve access to numerous holdings in the municipality. Likewise, the future of the Finca de Lajares was discussed, where the Cabildo is working in coordination with the Haría City Council to promote a project linked to the recovery of agricultural estates, generational change, and the enhancement of the agricultural landscape of the north of the island.
The attendees also raised other issues related to the future Máguez Nature Classroom, the recovery of the Casa del Cura as a space for youth, cultural, and artisanal uses, the possibility of implementing a traveling office of the Water Consortium to improve attention to the municipality's residents, and the need to continue promoting support measures for the primary sector.
The president of the Cabildo thanked the constructive tone of the meeting and committed to returning to Máguez next autumn to personally inform residents of the degree of compliance with the acquired commitments and the progress of the planned actions, especially regarding water supply.
"I take away from Máguez the education, the temperament, and the constructive spirit of residents who want the best for their town. My commitment is to return in October or November to account for and explain what has been fulfilled of everything we have shared today, because our goal is that water never fails again in Máguez," concluded Oswaldo Betancort.
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