Tenerife Residents Face Health Crisis Amid Standoff Over Sewage Infrastructure in Los Silos

A long-standing dispute over sewage infrastructure in Los Silos, Tenerife, has left residents of the Garen residential complex in the Sibora area facing ongoing health and administrative problems. For months, sewage has flooded the building’s common areas and garages, a situation made worse by recent heavy rain.

The conflict centers on who is responsible for the building’s failing pumping system. Jesús Manuel Hernández, president of the homeowners' association, argues that the issue stems from a lack of municipal maintenance and broken pumps, despite repeated warnings sent to local officials.

In contrast, the local council (PSOE-USP) claims the problem is a structural flaw in the building itself. They argue that the property lacks a separate rainwater drainage system, causing the pumps to become overwhelmed during storms. This issue has been further complicated by the closure of an emergency relief outlet by environmental authorities (Seprona) to protect the coastline.

The situation has now reached a breaking point, with the City Council issuing fines to residents. The council is demanding that the community pay to connect to the general network—a project estimated to cost between 8,000 and 20,000 euros. Residents have refused, citing their own technical reports that suggest the work would be ineffective. Instead, they are calling for the council to modernize the electrical panel and increase the capacity of the municipal tank.

This standoff highlights the vulnerability of infrastructure in residential areas connected to municipal systems twenty years ago. Currently, the council relies on tanker trucks to empty the tank—a temporary fix that residents criticize as a waste of public money. With the community still waiting for a response to formal complaints filed nine months ago, the dispute remains at a stalemate, leaving residents to deal with the ongoing health risks of sewage overflows.