Canaries cedes the Puerto Naos remineralization deposits to Gran Canaria

The Government of the Canary Islands and the Insular Water Council of Gran Canaria have formalized the temporary transfer of the remineralization system and complementary equipment installed in Puerto Naos, on the island of La Palma, to alleviate the lack of complete remineralization at the desalination plant in La Aldea de San Nicolás, in Gran Canaria. The agreement was signed on September 9, 2026, and its publication was ordered by the Resolution of September 23, 2026, from the Technical General Secretariat of the Ministry of Territorial Policy, Territorial Cohesion and Water. The text appears in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands no. 199, of October 5, 2026, under reference 3429.

The agreement responds to the water emergency caused by the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano on September 19, 2021, which depleted the water resources destined for agricultural irrigation following the rupture of the LP-II and Dos Pinos-Barranco channels. To guarantee the supply of domestic consumption and irrigation water, the Government of the Canary Islands put into service three portable desalination modules—Desalination Plant I, Desalination Plant II, and Desalination Plant III—with a combined production of 7,250 m³/day, although the facilities are designed to reach 12,000 m³/day by adding the necessary frames.

On November 28, 2023, the Insular Water Council of Gran Canaria requested the remineralization tanks from Puerto Naos from the General Directorate of Water, after receiving the inventory of recoverable and out-of-use equipment on November 23, 2023. The desalination plant in La Aldea de San Nicolás lacks adequate remineralization due to high water demand, while awaiting the contracting of the expansion of that facility.

The transferred equipment

The agreement details the list of assets and facilities owned by the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands that are being temporarily transferred:

• Pipes and manifolds: one remineralization isometric executed in HDPE pipe, two remineralized water manifolds with a diameter of 450 mm, and one tank emptying manifold of 250 mm with its corresponding valves.
• Tanks: eight remineralization tanks, 4.3 meters high and 2 meters in diameter, made of fiberglass-reinforced polyester.
• Metal structures: one metal remineralization walkway with non-slip tramex of 19.2 x 2.5 meters, including a cat ladder.

Of the 12 tanks installed in the emergency works, 8 are transferred to the Consejo Insular de Aguas de Gran Canaria; the remaining 4 were transferred to the Consejo Insular de Aguas de Tenerife via Resolution of July 30, 2024. The original system consisted of calcite beds from the brand DrinTec, with 12 vertical UV-resistant lacquered GRP tanks, designed to guarantee an autonomy of 30 days and arranged in two lines of six tanks operating by gravity.

Validity, cost, and monitoring

The agreement enters into force on the day of its signing and has a duration of four years, extendable for another four. The economic cost is borne entirely by the Consejería de Política Territorial, Cohesión Territorial y Aguas, at no cost to the Consejo Insular de Aguas de Gran Canaria; the disassembly and decommissioning of the portable desalination plants were entrusted to the public company Tragsa via Order No. 245/2024, Book 261, of October 10, 2024.

The disassembly and transfer of the equipment will be the responsibility of the Consejo Insular de Aguas de Gran Canaria, which estimates a minimum period of one year to manage the corresponding procurement. The agreement creates a Joint Monitoring Commission composed of four members, two representing each signing administration, with the presence of the Dirección General de Aguas and the management of the insular council.

The text was signed by the counselor Manuel Miranda Medina and by the president of the Consejo Insular de Aguas de Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales Méndez, assisted by the secretary of the organization, Luis Alfonso Manero Torres. The resolution ordering the publication bears the signature of the technical general secretary, Antonio Elías López Gulías.

The transfer allows for the reuse of infrastructure created for the volcanic emergency and improves the quality of the desalinated water supplying La Aldea de San Nicolás, a municipality that depends on desalination due to high demand, while the definitive expansion of the remineralization is processed.

Source: Boletín Oficial de Canarias, no. 199, of October 5, 2026, section III. Other Resolutions, page 35958 (official reference: 3429).