PHOTOS: Sergio Betancort.
Canal Gestión has made a tank and a truck with bottles of water available to the residents of Nazaret and Las Cabreras this Wednesday first thing in the morning, after Public Health restricted the use of water in these locations this Tuesday. This restriction, both for drinking and for cooking or personal hygiene, according to the director of the Lanzarote Health Area, is due to "anomalous levels" of a "bacteria" in the supply network.
José Brito indicated on Radio Lanzarote-Onda Cero that it is "a precautionary measure" and that there is no need to "be alarmed". However, he also admitted that "it is something very unusual" that had never happened with Canal Gestión. He pointed out, however, that the problem is "localized" in the Nazaret and Las Cabreras area. Thus, "the section that distributes and the tank" of those two locations was closed to prevent this anomaly from spreading to the rest of the network. "12 samples have been taken in all the branches and we are trying to focus well on where exactly the problem is," explained Brito.
This anomaly was detected this Tuesday morning in a routine control by the Public Health area, since then "the entire network has been emptied" and "the tanks have been cleaned". Afterwards, the Director of Health pointed out, four new samples were taken and Public Health is "awaiting the counter-analysis". "We are confident that it can be restored throughout the morning (this Wednesday)."
Restricted use also of cisterns
Brito, who has asked for "forgiveness from the residents" for this situation, has also indicated that those people who have stagnant water in cisterns or tanks in their homes should not use it "for the time being, neither for human consumption nor for personal hygiene".
First, the network needs to be analyzed again to find out if the problem has disappeared. Regarding the possibility of residents taking water samples from their homes to Public Health for analysis, José Brito has recommended that "they do not do so at this time." "We are trying to find out what the problem is from above. If they want, when we restore all the channels, we can do them," he said, emphasizing that they are working "as quickly as possible" to solve the problem.
On the other hand, the director of the Health Area has acknowledged the error of his department in not reporting this situation. Although they were the ones who detected the anomalies in the Canal Gestión network, it was the company that sent a statement to the media after 8:00 p.m. "We will take it into account and act differently next time. We follow the protocol established, that is why it was communicated in this way," he said.
