Seventeen towns in Lanzarote are facing water shortages due to two breakdowns at desalination plants, as reported by Aguas de Lanzarote and La Graciosa, managed by the Water Consortium. The disruptions began on Wednesday, affecting supply in various locations.
The breakdowns occurred in the production modules 1, 2, and 3 at the Díaz Rijo desalination plant (Lanzarote IV) in Las Caletas. Technicians had anticipated a resolution within eight hours, but complications have prolonged the outage. The Water Consortium noted that this maintenance shutdown had been scheduled. They are also experiencing dwindling reserves, particularly in the Zonzamas storage tanks, lacking sufficient resources to meet demand. They have requested the Canarian government to recover 60,000 cubic metres of water lost in 2014 and hope to commence these works next year.
As of Wednesday, towns including Güime, Tao, Muñique, Soo, Tiagua, Teguise, Nazaret, and Tahíche were reported without water supply. Additionally, supply was temporarily suspended in Arrieta, Punta Mujeres, and Guatiza due to low flow levels. By 7 pm, water services were further halted in Mala, Haría, and Máguez.
The situation is exacerbated by another issue at the Janubio desalination plant, where an electrical fault led to a temporary shutdown. This affected water supply to the southern areas of the island, leaving Yaiza, Uga, and Mácher without water.
Aguas de Lanzarote and La Graciosa have stated that they cannot currently estimate how long the disruptions will last, but service will be restored progressively once the necessary conditions for the plants and distribution network are met.
