The spokesperson for Iniciativa por La Gomera, Guzmán Correa, has demanded information in the Council meeting about the results of the water collection system, subsidised with nearly one million euros in 2021.
The island councillor and spokesperson for Iniciativa por La Gomera (IxLG), Guzmán Correa Marichal, has requested the governing group of the La Gomera Island Council to inform about the results obtained from the water collection project using fog nets, financed with a grant of nearly one million euros granted by the Government of the Canary Islands in November 2021.
Correa Marichal recalls that when this initiative was presented, it was publicly announced as an “exemplary project” to increase the island's water resources and even as an experience that could be implemented in other islands of the Archipelago. However, he pointed out that nearly five years have passed since that funding without any public knowledge of the results achieved.
A million-euro investment without public evaluation
Therefore, during the ordinary plenary session held this Friday, July 3, the IxLG councillor raised the question of how much water has been collected by the fog net installations since they were put into operation, considering the time elapsed since the project was announced and funded.
From Iniciativa por La Gomera (IxLG), they believe that any public investment of this magnitude must be accompanied by a transparent and objective evaluation that allows knowing whether the intended objectives have been met and what the actual performance of the installations has been.
Correa Marichal stated that “the citizens have the right to know whether an investment close to one million euros has yielded the expected results and what the effective contribution of this project has been to the improvement of La Gomera's water resources.”
Transparency as key for future investments
He also added that having verifiable data will allow assessing the effectiveness of this technology and making the most appropriate decisions for future investments in water management.
“Beyond the announcements made at the time, it is now time to provide concrete results and account for the degree of compliance with a project that was presented as a benchmark for the Canary Islands, to see if it is true or not,” the councillor concluded.
IxLG's request comes in a context of growing concern about water management in La Gomera, where drought and overexploitation of aquifers threaten supply. The fog nets were presented as an innovative solution to harness the moisture from clouds, but without official data, residents wonder if public money has been of any use.
The Council, governed by a coalition of ASG and PSOE, has yet to respond to the request. It is expected that in the coming weeks, they will comment on the project's results, which could set a precedent for other Canary Islands also suffering from water stress.
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