The Consultative Council of the Canary Islands has ruled in favor of the Lanzarote Water Consortium in the contract termination procedure with Canal Gestión Lanzarote, by considering proven a structural and serious breach of the public service of supply, sanitation, and reuse in Lanzarote and La Graciosa.
The opinion 205/2026, issued this May 27 and received this Wednesday by the Lanzarote Water Consortium, consists of 43 pages and strongly maintains that an essential public service cannot operate with water losses exceeding 50% and with continuous or daily interruptions without affecting the very core of the contract. Furthermore, it makes it clear that the regularity and continuity of supply are not accessory obligations, but the essential expression of contractual compliance.
The report states that the structural deficiencies of the system, resulting from the failure to execute the exploitation plan, have caused "a serious and repeated disturbance of the service," materialized in the impossibility of guaranteeing regular supply to the different municipalities, with "continuous and daily supply interruptions." The Consultative Council adds that these are not "sporadic or limited incidents," but "a structural impact on the public service" that compromises its operation and distorts the very purpose of the contract.
The opinion itself also concludes that the concessionaire's breach is "structural, persistent, and not merely occasional," prolonged over time "without its effective correction being recorded," despite the requests made by the Administration. Therefore, the Consultative Council considers that these breaches are "serious and substantial," frustrate the purpose of the contract, and fully justify the exercise of the termination power by the Consortium.
The president of the Water Consortium, Oswaldo Betancort, stated that "this opinion confirms that the defense of water in Lanzarote was not a political option, but a legal, institutional, and moral obligation in the face of an unsustainable situation for the citizens."
Betancort added that "when an essential service accumulates losses of more than 50% and daily interruptions, the Administration cannot look the other way; it must act to protect the general interest."
For his part, the Water counselor, Domingo Cejas, stressed that “the Consultative Council emphatically supports the procedure initiated by the Consortium and certifies that the concessionaire's breaches are structural, persistent, and serious enough to justify the termination of the contract”.
The Consortium has already forwarded the full content of the opinion to the mayors of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, within the institutional coordination process opened to face the recovery and stabilization of the integral water cycle on the island.
The Consortium considers that this opinion represents a solid legal backing for the roadmap initiated to regain effective control of the integral water cycle and guarantee a stable, efficient service in line with the real needs of Lanzarote and La Graciosa
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