The president of the Water Consortium of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, Oswaldo Betancort, has given instructions to immediately promote the drafting of the project for the integral renovation of the broken pipe early this morning in Argana Alta, in Arrecife, considered a strategic infrastructure for the island's sanitation system.
The Water Consortium of Lanzarote activated during the early hours of this Thursday a wide technical device to repair the breakdown registered in this sanitation network on Tajaraste street, minimizing the consequences of an incident that affected one of the main wastewater pipelines on the island.
The notice was received by the Integral Water Service, recently taken over by the Water Consortium of Lanzarote, a few minutes before one in the morning. The action protocol was immediately activated and, at 1:00 AM, the intermediate pumping station from which wastewater is pumped to the Wastewater Treatment Plant (EDAR) of Arrecife, located next to the San Bartolomé road, was stopped.
This pipeline transports wastewater from the entire municipality of Arrecife and the town of Playa Honda, so it supports a significant volume of flow and high working pressure, a circumstance that explains the magnitude of the incident registered.
The temporary shutdown of the pumping station allowed the pipe to be discharged and emptied so that the operators could intervene safely and carry out the repair.
From that moment on, the teams from the Sanitation department of the Integral Water Service began the work of pumping and cleaning the wastewater accumulated in the public street, working throughout the early morning to restore normality as soon as possible.
As a consequence of the strong north wind recorded during the night, part of the water column reached the roof of the building located south of the affected area. For this reason, the Water Consortium expanded the cleaning device from first thing in the morning, taking charge not only of cleaning the public street and outdoor spaces, but also of the common areas of the building and the premises that were affected.
During Thursday morning, the managing director of the Water Consortium, accompanied by the head of the Integrated Water Service Area and technical personnel, traveled to the site to personally supervise the work, check the progress of the repair, and maintain direct contact with residents and municipal officials.
At this time, cleaning and repair work continue. The operators have already proceeded with the excavation and uncovering of the pipe to precisely locate the point of the breakdown. The repair will be carried out throughout the morning, after which it will be necessary to wait approximately twelve hours for drying before putting the pipeline back into service.
The initial inspections have confirmed that the rupture occurred at a different point than those that had been repaired in previous actions. This fact confirms that the previously executed repairs were correct, but also highlights the serious state of deterioration of the entire route of this pumping line.
The Water Consortium and the technicians of the Integrated Water Service are already working on a provisional solution that will allow reinforcing the security of the network while the definitive renovation is carried out. The proposal includes the installation of a new parallel pipeline until its connection with the Arrecife Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The president of the Cabildo and the Water Consortium, Oswaldo Betancort, highlighted that "the incident shows that we are dealing with an infrastructure that has exhausted its useful life. We have acted with the utmost speed to resolve the breakdown, but we have also made the decision to accelerate the complete renovation of this pumping line to offer a definitive solution and guarantee a safer and more reliable service to the citizens."
For his part, the Water Councilor, Domingo Cejas, emphasized that "the technicians have responded from the first moment with a significant human and material deployment, working throughout the night to minimize the consequences of the breakdown. In addition to repairing the pipeline, we are ensuring a comprehensive cleaning of all affected areas and planning a provisional solution that increases the security of the installation until the definitive work can be carried out."
The Lanzarote Water Consortium has kept the Arrecife City Council informed at all times about the evolution of the incident and the actions taken, while thanking the collaboration provided by the Arrecife Local Police, whose coordination has been fundamental to facilitate the work and guarantee safety in the area.