Construction of Wastewater Treatment Plant in Güímar Halted
The municipal government of Güímar has suspended the construction of a sewage treatment plant in Golete, a neighbourhood located along the Agache coast. The Güímar City Council has already invested approximately one million euros in the project. The main reason for this decision is the anticipated short lifespan of the infrastructure, as explained by the councillor for Concessionary Companies and Agriculture, Francisco Hernández Armas.
Criminal Proceedings
The Golete plant was intended to address the issue of untreated sewage discharges into the sea from a well situated on public land, which serves the local residents. Consequently, a criminal case has been open since 2018. The location, in close proximity to residences, combined with a lack of communication with the local population and the impact of the construction itself, led to protests from residents, who voiced their concerns to the then ombudsman, Rafael Yanes.
Emergency Measures
The Popular Party, now in government with Carmen Luisa Castro as mayor, has consistently opposed this project. One of their first actions, alongside their governing partners (New Canary Islands and two councillors from the PSOE), was to suspend the works. “This sewage treatment plant does not comply with the Tenerife Hydrological Plan, which mandates the transfer of wastewater to the regional treatment plant,” stated the councillor, located in Lomo del Caballo (Arafo).
Final Measures
Hernández Armas, who is also the municipal spokesperson for the Popular Party, explained that to comply with this directive, the Güímar municipal government plans to facilitate the pumping of wastewater from Golete to the Southern Motorway, from where the sewage will be transported by gravity to the new pumping station that will be built in Los Tarajales (El Puertito de Güímar). From this facility, the sewage from the Güímar coast will be elevated to the regional treatment plant, which is already operational. As a result, Francisco Hernández asserted that the Golete sewage treatment plant would have a useful life of barely more than a year, which he believes invalidates the investment.
Approximately 670,000 euros were invested in the construction of the Golete sewage treatment plant, its initial budget, alongside around 300,000 euros more spent on two drilling attempts (the first of which was unsuccessful). The previous municipal government (CC-PSOE-USP) justified its necessity by arguing that it addressed an environmental issue and defended its location as the only viable option, as it met all the regulatory requirements for its placement.
