Santa Cruz Conditions Desalination Transfer on Wastewater Plant or Funds
Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council conditions the transfer of its desalination plant's management on the Insular Water Council either taking over the Buenos Aires wastewater treatment plant or repaying the city's investments.
The Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council has set a clear condition for handing over the management of its Seawater Desalination Plant (EDAM). This plant might eventually be managed by the Insular Water Council, a body linked to the Cabildo. According to Carlos Tarife, the Councilor for Public Services, the City Council insists that the Insular Water Council must either take over the Buenos Aires wastewater treatment plant or pay back the money the City Council has invested in the desalination plant.
The desalination plant itself is owned by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge. Santa Cruz City Council has managed it since 2001, working with the company Sacyr-Emmasa. Under their management, the plant has greatly increased how much water it can produce. It was originally built to make 21,000 cubic meters of water per day, but now it produces 31,000 m³. Plans are in place to increase this to 40,000 m³ after the summer, and potentially up to 48,000 m³ with more funding for future expansions. The Insular Water Council wants to manage this plant to make it serve the wider region, including towns like La Laguna.
However, the City Council of Santa Cruz has repeatedly refused to transfer management unless its conditions are met. Their main demand is for the Insular Water Council to take over the Buenos Aires wastewater treatment plant. Although Santa Cruz manages this plant, it treats wastewater from Santa Cruz itself, La Laguna, and El Rosario. In fact, 54% of the wastewater comes from La Laguna and El Rosario. Councilor Tarife explained that the City Council is putting together a detailed financial report of all the money it has invested to boost the desalination plant's capacity. This includes 12 million euros spent on the expansion to 40,000 m³, which is part of a 45 million euro debt owed to the City Council by Sacyr. This report will be used to demand that the invested money be returned, either by providing Santa Cruz with free water for a certain period or through a direct payment.
The councilor confirmed that the Insular Water Council has sent several requests to manage the desalination plant. However, the City Council's answer has always been the same: they will not hand it over unless the wastewater treatment plant is taken on or their investments are paid back. Tarife warned that if there isn't a positive response about the wastewater treatment plant soon, the Santa Cruz City Council might take legal action. He also pointed out that Santa Cruz has been a 'partner' to the Cabildo in dealing with the water shortage. He mentioned the projects completed that will supply the Cabildo with 4 million cubic meters of water for distribution across the island by March 2027.