No water - it's time CAAF fired someone!

[Spitfire58]

When you see the way a lot of the pipes are laid, just left lying on the ground it’s no wonder there are leaks. The climate there degrades any & all plastic pretty quickly. IMHO

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

It's the cheap way (solar) to heat the water! Sometimes I think I've turned the hot tap on by mistake.

[Can the Man]

It's the cheap way (solar) to heat the water! Sometimes I think I've turned the hot tap on by mistake.

Ha ha ha

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Archer - one of our neighbours had the same problem with their reserve tank taking forever to refill even on the days that we seemed to be ok. They got our local builder in to have a look (the original builders had buried the tank underground and capped it with concrete! so it wasn't easily accessible/viewable). He checked the ballcock which was on it's way out so he replaced that but still no better. He then stuck a hook on a thin wire up the pipe towards the meter (after turning off at the meter ) and gently pulled it back. It brought with it a great mass of fine, hairlike roots. He said it is a local plant and the seeds get in when there is a leak (ie when the water goes brown sometimes after they have been mending yet another burst). He didn't seem at all surprised so he must have come across it before. My friends water pressure is now as good as ours (which is not brilliant a lot of the time) but at least their tank fills up reasonably quickly once we are back on mains.

Update to above post.

My friend's water supply pressure has gradually got worse again so the builder has been back for another look along with a plumber with a camera on a wire. They found the supply pipe completely blocked so they dug it up to investigate. Along the length of pipe they found a joint and a very fine hairlike root going in through the joint. Undoing the joint they found roots that had developed like dreadlocks, completely blocking the pipe! Tomorrow they are replacing the whole 40m length of pipe from meter to tank in case there is any more in there!

  dreadlock lying next to the section it was removed from. (Ignore the irrigation pipes, nothing to do with this problem.)

closeup of the dreadlock!

[Spitfire58]

Wow !! That is a bad one. So if it got in at the joint it would seem the best solution is to have one run of pipe from end to end & maybe case the end joints with concrete as an extra. Makes it harder IF you have to dig up at any point but not by much a sledge wouldn’t resolve. Might stop the roots though 😁😁

[Archer]

That's crazy! Those fine roots from some trees can find there way into any orifice seeking moisture. They can even travel underground up to 50m or more (so I'm told). Never seen anything as bad as that, Tamara.

When we had an underground leak on a long pipe run, the insurance company sent someone and paid.  They ran a new pipe inside the old. Reduces the flow a little but not a problem.

By the way: Our water has suffered NO further cuts since the politicians met. Strange - as nothing new is in place, yet.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

courtesy RTVAC:

In the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands number 234 of Tuesday, December 3, 2019, and attending the request made by the Water Supply Consortium to Fuerteventura (CAAF), and in compliance with the provisions of the General Board of the Insular Council of Aguas de Fuerteventura, in an extraordinary session held on November 11, 2019, pursuant to the provisions of Law 12/1990, of July 26, on Waters, and articles 196 and following of the Regulation of the Public Hydraulic Domain of the Canary Islands, approved by Decree 86/2002, of July 2, the public information process is published, for a minimum period of five days, of the proposed declaration of emergency situation due to the serious decrease in the available flows that jeopardize production and the water supply of the areas of the island of Fuerteventura indicated below, for a period of six months, in order to implement the following measures that are required to guarantee the minimum flow required for sanitary and domestic uses:

- South Zone (Tesejerague, El Cardón, Marcos Sánchez, La Lajita Valley, Tarajalejo, La Pared).

- North Zone (Lajares, El Roque and El Cotillo).

- Central Zone (Betancuria and Vega Río Palmas) and high part of the urban area of Puerto del Rosario.

MEDIDAS EN INFRAESTRUCTURAS HIDRAULICAS DE PRODUCCIÓN INDUSTRIAL DE AGUA
IDENTIFICACIÓN OBRA – ACTUACIÓN (CAAF)
ESTIMACIÓN PRESUPUESTO CAAF

Ampliación y mejora EDAM Puerto del Rosario IV-2ª fase 7.200 m3/d (T.M. PUERTO DEL ROSARIO)

1.952.105,64 €

Ampliación y mejora EDAM Corralejo 5.000 m3/d  (T.M. LA OLIVA)

3.205.581,27 €

Suministros 4 Lotes (Bombas, Cuadros Eléctricos, Membranas, Piezas Especiales)

2.694.199,25 €

Actuaciones de mejora, obra civil y paramentos en la EDAM de Gran Tarajal (T.M. TUINEJE)

2.556.393,62 €

Renovación parcial de la red de impulsión de agua producto de la EDAM de Gran Tarajal (T.M. TUINEJE)                                                                                                                                                                                                 424.237,84 €

Nuevo depósito de agua producto en la EDAM de Gran Tarajal (T.M. TUINEJE)
111.131,15 €
Suministro e instalación filtros de arena en la EDAM Gran Tarajal (T.M. TUINEJE)
376.920,74 €
Suministro e instalación de dos módulos de 1.500 m3/d en la EDAM Gran Tarajal (T.M. TUINEJE)
175.288,51 €
Nueva Planta Desaladora Zona Sur isla (5.000 m3/d) + Depósito regulador + Redes transporte conexión zona sur (T.M. PÁJARA)
5.500.000 €

MEDIDAS EN INFRAESTRUCTURAS HIDRAULICAS DE DISTRIBUCIÓN Y ALMACENAMIENTO DE AGUA
IDENTIFICACIÓN OBRA – ACTUACIÓN (CAAF)
ESTIMACIÓN PRESUPUESTO CAAF
Infraestructura, reparación e impermeabilización de diferentes depósitos del CAAF (T.M. PUERTO DEL ROSARIO)

1.200.000 €

Nueva Red de conexión trasvase desde Depósito nuevo Morro Francisco (Corralejo) hasta Depósito Lajares (Aportación agua desde Corralejo) (T.M. LA OLIVA)

814.298,31 €

Infraestructura, reparación e impermeabilización de diferentes depósitos del CAAF (T.M.LA OLIVA)

500.000 €

Infraestructura, reparación e impermeabilización de diferentes depósitos del CAAF (T.M. TUINEJE)

500.000 €

Infraestructura, reparación e impermeabilización de diferentes depósitos del CAAF (T.M. PÁJARA)

550.000 €

Infraestructura, reparación e impermeabilización de diferentes depósitos del CAAF (T.M. BETANCURIA)

150.000 €

Infraestructura, reparación e impermeabilización de diferentes depósitos del CAAF (T.M. ANTIGUA)

200.000 €

Medidas para la detección de fugas en todas las redes de distribución de transporte, secundarias y cascos urbanos
Sin valoración estimada

During this period, the allegations deemed appropriate may be presented in the Official Registry of the Insular Council of Aguas de Fuerteventura in Puerto del Rosario, on Antonio Espinosa street, corner of Lucha Canaria, from 9.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m., or in any of the registries authorized according to Law 39/2015, of October 1, of the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations.

[Grampiangranny]

Being in one of the highest altitude buildings in El Cotillo, means that our water pressure suffers before everybody else.  Year on year since 2012, the problem with our water supply has got increasingly worse, particularly over busy holiday periods like Christmas and Easter.  We have to keep 8 litre bottles of water handy in both bathrooms, just in case we lose the supply completely. Particularly embarrassing when you have visitors staying.

We read of huge expansion plans for El Cotillo. Maybe some of us will literally be left high and dry? How CAAF can justify their large connection standing charges, heaven only knows. If there's no water, there's not much point in being connected in the first place!

[Spitfire58]

This was on Facebook today. Originally in Norwegian but used Google translator. Must have been taken from a local government statement:


The Fuerteventura Island Council declares a crisis situation due to major problems with the water supply on the island.

 In a press release issued by the island government, President Blas Acosta said that this statement would free up the bureaucratic capacity needed to accelerate efforts to remedy the problems.

 According to the president, the declaration should allow water reservoirs to be expanded, increase seawater desalination capacity, and solve water supply problems on the island.  The hope is that the problems will be resolved by the summer.

 The severe decline in available fresh water has created major problems on the island.  The authorities say that they have therefore introduced extraordinary measures to supply enough water to the inhabitants.

 The affected areas are Tesejerague, El Cardón, Marcos Sánchez, La Lajita Valley, Tarajalejo and La Pared on the southern part of the island, Lajares, El Roque and El Cotillo in the north, as well as Vega Río Palma and Betancuria in central areas.  In addition, the problems affect the upper part of the city of Puerto del Rosario.

 Specifically, the Island Council plans to expand and improve desalination plants in Puerto del Rosario, Corralejo, and Gran Tarajal, in addition to the construction of a brand new facility in Pájara.


 
 A total of € 14.2 million is planned to be spent on this.

 In addition, about three million euros will be spent on repairs and maintenance of water reservoirs in six municipalities, and a new water pipe is planned from Morro Francisco in the Corralejo reservoir to Lajares.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

The Cabildo guarantees the water supply with the repair of 33 tanks.
The Fuerteventura Town Council has launched an emergency plan to guarantee the water supply on the island with actions worth six million euros, a strategic action that includes increasing the supply of desalinated water on the island and carrying out major repairs in the supply network.
In this way, thanks to the coordinated effort between different councils of the Cabildo and the Consortium of Water Supply to Fuerteventura (CAAF), they have been awarded the emergency route from the supply of desalinated water in three points of the island, for the center , north and south, to the arrangement of 33 deposits located throughout the island.
For the president of the Cabildo of Fuerteventura, Blas Acosta, "it was an absolute necessity to guarantee an adequate flow of water in those areas that had the most supply problems to date", he stressed, for whom with these actions "significant progress is made in the commitment acquired by this Government Group to solve once and for all the water supply problem in Fuerteventura, which lasted for many years ”.
The actions include from actions in the La Herradura reservoir to the Fimapaire reservoir, the renovation, replacement and expansion of the Fimapaire-Morro del Puerco drive diameter, renovation and replacement, increasing the size, of the Lajares-El Roque transport network, drive pipeline from the Gran Tarajal desalination plant to the Corral Blanco pumping station, expansion of the Marcos Sánchez drive network to Guerime and replacement of the distribution network between Pájara and Fayagua, among other actions such as the purchase of three portable desalination plants 2000 cubic meters a day of capacity.
The Minister of Infrastructure, Territorial Planning, Coordination with Municipalities and General Services of the Cabildo, Sergio Lloret, for his part, explained that the procedure has been that of concurrence by invitation, in which up to eight companies from different sectors have participated, with which 12 actions have been awarded that "without a doubt will significantly improve the water supply in Fuerteventura," he said.
For the Minister of Water, Waste and Hunting of the Cabildo, Carlos Rodríguez, "the cooperation plan between the Cabildo Insular and the CAAF begins to bear fruit", and celebrated that these emergency actions "will finally guarantee the supply of water in the island in quantity and quality ”.
The award of these declared emergency contracts by the Insular Government Council on April 17 is made to guarantee the water supply to all the populations of the island in order to protect the health of the people who live on the island and avoid foreseeable damages to the population derived from the COVID-19 emergency situation.