As mayor of San Bartolomé and, above all, as a resident of this island that we love so much, I cannot remain silent while Lanzarote goes through one of the most serious water crises in its recent history. The rains of recent weeks have brought visual relief, a bucolic scene but one that does not solve the underlying problem: we continue to live on an island where water is scarce, poorly managed and treated with an institutional lightness that is incomprehensible.
Lanzarote lives off tourism, yes, but those who sustain this island day by day are samples of female neighbors and male neighbors, suffering constant cuts, endless breakdowns and a permanent uncertainty about a resource as basic as water.
In San Bartolomé, the supply presents incidents 41% of the days of the year, according to data from the Insular Water Consortium itself. Almost half the year with problems. How can the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, continue acting as if this were normal?
It is unacceptable that, with this reality on the table, the president promotes and approves an increase in the price of water without offering guarantees of continuity, without improvements in the service and without visible investments. One cannot govern with one's back to the citizenry. One cannot ask for more money when the corresponding work has not been done.
San Bartolomé wants to provide solutions, wants to advance, wants water to stop being a chronic problem. But what we cannot tolerate is Canal Gestión continuing to act as a non-compliant company without anyone assuming responsibilities. Different mayors of Lanzarote voted at the time for the termination of the contract due to the serious breaches by the company. And they were not minor details: works that were never executed despite being planned, discharges into the sea that shame any serious administration, and a lack of maintenance that has led to situations bordering on the criminal.
And the most galling thing is the data that no one can hide: when Canal Gestión arrived in Lanzarote, water losses were around 30%. Today we are at 55%. More than half of the water produced is lost before reaching homes. This is intolerable, unjustifiable and shows that the model has failed. After 13 years of a contract that was sold as the great solution for the island, the only thing we see is that the service is worse, that losses are greater and that the citizenry pays the consequences of management that has not been up to par.
This is not how an essential resource is managed. This is not how an island is governed
The lack of transparency in everything related to the integral water cycle is alarming. The information arrives late, incomplete, and fragmented. The city councils do not have the necessary technical data to make responsible decisions. The president of the Cabildo has allowed water management to become a dark territory, without clear control and without accountability. This is not how an essential resource is managed. This is not how an island is governed.
As mayor, I feel a deep helplessness when I see how a basic right is trifled with. As a resident, it angers me that paying more for a service that doesn't work is normalized. Water is not a luxury. Water is life, it is dignity, it is a right. My government team and I will continue working tirelessly to stop this absurdity. We will promote a common front among administrations and political forces, because this problem does not understand colors, but responsibility.
We cannot resign ourselves to the citizenry paying the consequences of obscure decisions and of a management that does not prioritize the well-being of the people. Lanzarote deserves an administration that takes care of its water with the same seriousness with which its tourist image is cared for.
The neighbors cannot pay more for a service that does not work. Water must be managed with responsibility, transparency, and respect. And from San Bartolomé we will not stop raising our voice until that is the case.
