Half a year after the presentation of the Puerto del Carmen Sanitation Network Expansion Project, the tourist town continues to await its implementation. This Plan is pending the signing of the agreement between the Government of the Canary Islands and the State. "Until this is resolved, we cannot do anything," specified José Juan Cruz, mayor of Tías. Some residents of the town, specifically from Avenida de las Playas, have complained again about the appearance of bad odors in the area, possibly caused by the poor condition of the pipes. The City Council has denied the appearance of new spills, especially "since the new station was put in place, about a month ago," as specified by the mayor.
The Puerto del Carmen Sanitation Plan is included, together with the Arrecife Sanitation Plan, in the agreement between the Government of the Canary Islands and the State. Orlando Umpiérrez, general director of Water of the Government of the Canary Islands, has described the reasons for the slowing down of the process as "indefinite". "We have been trying for some time but they are putting objections and reservations", explained the director of Water. "When an agreement is not signed it is because there are problems with time or financing."
The Government of the Canary Islands exempts its responsibility. "We made a project, we presented it to the Ministry, we gave it an entry period, we included it in a future agreement, and after that, they have not yet signed it," explained Umpiérrez. "This is taking much longer than we would like, and nevertheless, we continue working to solve it as soon as possible, not only for the Puerto del Carmen network but also for the Arrecife network."
Once this process is completed and the agreement is signed, the Sanitation Plan will have an execution period of thirty months and a budget of eighteen million euros.
Spills on Avenida de las Playas
The spills on Avenida de las Playas are not a new phenomenon. In recent months, residents and merchants have complained about their appearance and last Christmas, a large part of Playa Grande had to be sealed off due to the dirt coming from the pipes. This is one of the possible reasons why this beach has lost its blue flag. And it is that the sanitation network of Puerto del Carmen has become obsolete with the rapid demographic and tourist growth of the town in recent years, so its expansion and improvement is essential to avoid new spills.
