The Canary Islands Government approved this Wednesday the third cycle of hydrological planning and the second cycle of flood risk management for the island of Lanzarote. Both documents, which should have been approved in December 2021, “have been prepared and approved by the Government in record time, less than a year, thus fulfilling the commitment acquired with the rectors of that island during the past summer”, reported the Minister of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water of the regional Executive, Manuel Miranda.
Miranda explained that the two documents began their processing in 2018, “but their processing was not completed within the deadline dictated by Europe, that is, December 2021 for those corresponding to said planning and risk management cycles”. The Government of the Canary Islands, “as soon as we joined, made itself available to the Island Council and subrogated the preparation of these documents in September 2023”. “Today, less than a year later”, added Manuel Miranda, “we have approved them, fulfilling the commitment even before the initially planned dates”.
The third cycle of the Lanzarote Hydrological Plan proposes the execution of 202 measures to meet the objectives that have to do with guaranteeing both the quality of the water and the demand on the Island, in addition to alleviating the effects of droughts or floods and rationalizing the use of water. Together with this plan, the second cycle of the Flood Risk Plan is also approved, a document that includes a program of measures whose ultimate objective is to mitigate the possible risks of flooding among the population centers.
The hydrological planning and flood risk management documents are mandatory, in accordance with Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000, in cycles of six years. The documents approved today should have been approved before December 2021, and this delay “has caused a demand from the European Commission, presented in 2022, which we hope to avoid with a great collaboration with the island councils”, Miranda indicated.
This Government of the Canary Islands approved those corresponding to Tenerife and Gran Canaria in the first weeks of management, and now those of Lanzarote, but those of Fuerteventura and La Palma remain to be approved. In the case of the first island, although it is being drafted by the island council, the Government of the Canary Islands is providing all the technical support. “The intention is that the environmental evaluation commission will approve them in September”, the minister reported, “and in the month of November they can be definitively approved”. Regarding those of La Palma, Manuel Miranda indicated that the process was suffering a greater delay, which “we have solved by making available to the island council the necessary technical advice so that it is approved before the end of the year”.
Manuel Miranda has announced that work is already underway to coordinate the drafting of the hydrological and risk plans for the following cycles, “which must be approved before December 2027”. To this end, he added, some meetings have already been held with the island councils in order to “officially begin their preparation after the present summer and thus ensure that the Canary Islands are up to date with their hydrological planning”.
