The Government of the Canary Islands, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, has agreed with the State Mercantile Society of Agrarian Structures (SEIASA), attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, to review the modernization and improvement project of the irrigation of the northeast area of Lanzarote, in the municipalities of Tinajo and Teguise, to study an alternative to the placement of the desalination plant's outfall projected in the area of La Santa.
In addition, the autonomous department and SEIASA will work in coordination with the Cabildo of Lanzarote and the City Council of Tinajo to draw up a roadmap to find a possible alternative solution to the development of the project, without prejudice to the fishermen who carry out their activity in this coastal enclave of the island and the surf professionals.
In this sense, and at the request of the City Council of Tinajo, the Ministry prepared a report on the possible affectation of the outfall in the wave zone of "El Quemao", "El Céntrico", "La Izquierda de La Santa", "Derecha de La Santa" and "La Misteriosa". The study analyzed the height of the wave from 0.5 to 7.5 meters and its evolution towards the coast, its direction and rotation in the wave front. The study, presented in December 2022 to the conejero consistory, determined that "the waves did not suffer any type of alteration or affectation by the presence of the outfall", they point out from the Consistory.
"This project, demanded for decades by the farmers and ranchers of the area, has the favorable resolution of the environmental impact statement by the Ministry. Its design contemplates a seawater desalination plant by modular reverse osmosis for a maximum production of 3,600 cubic meters per day. It will be located on the land adjacent to the current EDAR Northeast of Lanzarote, known as the La Santa treatment plant, in the municipality of Tinajo"
This new water infrastructure will allow to irrigate more than 1,300 cultivable hectares, compared to the just over 200 hectares that are currently cultivated, which would mean multiplying the cultivated space by six. The work will consist of two independent desalination modules in self-consumption regime by wind energy, water tank, pumping equipment and impulsion pipe, irrigation network and tank in the area of El Cuchillo and the irrigation network of the Tinache pond.
The work, declared of General Interest and included in the Canary Islands Irrigation Plan, has an investment of 14 million euros financed in 80% with funds from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan of the Government of Spain. This project is included within the 10 works proposed by the Canary Islands Executive to SEIASA for the Plan to improve efficiency and sustainability in irrigation with an amount of 68 million euros.
These actions have the collaboration of the water management entities in the islands (councils, island water councils, consortiums or irrigation communities, among others). This investment represents a very significant advance for the improvement of irrigation networks and a firm commitment to the modernization of irrigation systems in the archipelago.