Spain Pledges Tenerife II Prison Water Fix
The Spanish government has pledged to resolve the persistent water supply problems at Tenerife II Prison with a €3.6 million project, ending a long-running dispute and addressing environmental concerns.
The Spanish government has promised to fix the water supply problem at Tenerife II Prison, according to sources from La Laguna City Council. This commitment follows a meeting between the mayors of La Laguna, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, and El Rosario, Escolástico Gil. It's a significant step in a long-running dispute that has caused friction between local councils and the national government.
The prison has faced water shortages, forcing El Rosario to take water meant for its residents – even during the Tenerife fire emergency in 2023. This highlights how complicated responsibilities are and how much pressure there is on water in the Canary Islands. For a long time, El Rosario has supplied water to the state-run prison without any payment, causing ongoing frustration for the local council.
El Rosario's mayor, Escolástico Gil, has often complained about the government doing nothing about its own prison's water issues. This led him to commission a technical plan to solve the problem. This plan, called "Project for supply and sanitation pipelines from Pozo La Cañada to Tenerife II Penitentiary Center," was given to La Laguna because some of the necessary work crosses land belonging to both towns.
After seeing the plan, La Laguna's mayor, Luis Yeray Gutiérrez, contacted Ángel Víctor Torres, the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory. Now, Minister Torres and Sara Aagesen, the Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, are expected to visit the island to finalize a national solution. The exact date for their visit is still unknown.
The project, designed by Mareva Ingeniería and led by Javier Martínez, will cost over 3.6 million euros and take 18 months to complete. It involves upgrading water and sewage systems in both towns, building a new main pipeline to the prison, and extending the sewage collector. The main goals are to ensure a steady water supply, improve how wastewater is handled, and most importantly, stop pollution of the local underground water source – a key environmental concern for both councils.
About 3 million euros of the funding will go to El Rosario, and 638,000 euros to La Laguna. Work will take place on roads like Calle Cascajal and the paths of La Cañada, Escaño, La Mina, and La Palma. This includes crossing the TF-24 road using a special 'pipe jacking' method to keep traffic flowing smoothly.