The General Assembly of the Insular Water Council of Lanzarote has approved, at the request of the Water Consortium, the second extension of the water emergency declaration in Lanzarote and La Graciosa for an additional period of six months. The decision is adopted after the analysis of the technical, legal, and management reports prepared by the Insular Water Council of Lanzarote itself, which attest to the persistence of a structural situation of vulnerability in the integral water cycleThe president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote and of the Insular Water Council, Oswaldo Betancort, has pointed out that "the approval of this extension is a responsible decision, based on technical criteria and the defense of the general interest, which allows us to complete essential actions and continue guaranteeing the supply to the population". Betancort emphasizes that the objective is to consolidate the initiated improvements and avoid scenarios of greater instability in the supplyThe General Assembly of the Water Council, held this morning in the plenary hall of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, approved again by a large majority the extension of the water emergency, with 19 votes in favor, 3 votes against from the Town Councils of Tías, San Bartolomé and the socialist representative of the Cabildo, Ariagona González, as well as the abstention of the mayor of Yaiza, Óscar NodaThe president has thanked the 19 councilors of the Board of the Insular Water Council for their support for the extension of the water emergency, and has clarified that "the first request was proposed by the Presidency of the Cabildo, but the extensions have been requested by the Management of the Consortium with favorable reports from the technicians of the Insular Council, and, above all and most importantly, with the massive support of the councilors and representatives of the social sectors".
The attending councilors were informed that, currently, between the Cabildo of Lanzarote, the Water Consortium, and the Insular Council of Lanzarote, there is committed funding of around 43 million euros in hydraulic infrastructure works that are underway, under contract, or have already been completed.
“The true Water Table of this island”
The Lanzarote Water Consortium has justified the need for this extension due to the persistence of factors that motivated the initial declaration of the water emergency. Among them are the high dependence on desalination as the main source of supply, the vulnerability of the system to breakdowns, significant losses in distribution networks, insufficient storage capacity, and the growing pressure of demand. Although numerous actions have been carried out and others are underway, the reports conclude that the supply is still not fully guaranteed without maintaining the exceptional framework of the emergencyThe Minister of Water of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Domingo Cejas, has highlighted that "this extension is key to ensuring the continuity of ongoing works and projects, without slowing down investments that are strategic for the island". Cejas adds that "really today the 23 members who sat in front of the president represent the true Water Council of this island".For his part, the manager of the Insular Water Council of Lanzarote, Erik Martín, reported on the works that are currently planned by this entity, through the Framework Agreement, in terms of network renovation, ravine drainage, and the improvement of storm drains in the Argana Alta neighborhoodThe approval of this second extension keeps in force the measures adopted in the initial declaration and in the first extension, allowing the continuation of actions aimed at stabilizing the service, reducing losses, improving infrastructure, and moving towards a structural solution that guarantees a safe and sustainable supply in the medium and long term