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12 | Gazette Life | July 2025GAZETTE | NEWSWATER WARSThe dispute between Lanzarote%u2019s Water Consortium and Canal Gesti%u00f3n has escalated, with no rapid resolution in sight.Lanzarote%u2019s Water Consortium is a public body composed of the mayors of all seven of Lanzarote%u2019s councils and the President of the Cabildo. Until 2013 its job was to manage the supply, distribution and purification of water on Lanzarote, which it did via the public company Inalsa.In 2009, Inalsa went into receivership with debts of %u20ac40 million, and a court declared that the mismanagement had been so poor that several members of its board could be personally liable to settle with creditors.In 2013, Cabildo President Pedro San Gin%u00e9s oversaw a privatization contract that put Madrid-based company Canal Gesti%u00f3n in charge of Lanzarote%u2019s water, although the Water Consortium still approved decisions. Since then, the situation of Lanzarote%u2019s water system has only got worse. Canal Gesti%u00f3n, which expected to start making a profit in 2021, has made a loss of over %u20ac75 million, with most of those losses in recent years. The terms of the 2013 contract also stipulated that water losses would be reduced to 30%. Instead, over 60% of the water produced on the island is not invoiced and is assumed to be lost to leaks in the mains system or illegal use of water. In May, the Cabildo announced that it was seeking to terminate the relationship with Canal Gesti%u00f3n for breach of contract. Last month, the Water Consortium released a 93-page legal report accusing Canal Gesti%u00f3n of %u201cserious failure to comply%u201d with the contract, and lack of investment.In response, Canal Gesti%u00f3n has declared that it does not accept liability for losses or failure to invest because of the Water Consortium%u2019s continual refusal to allow it to raise water rates for consumers. Meanwhile, as the politicians battle with the suits in Madrid and the lawyers prepare the battleground, the island continues to suffer constant water cuts. These cuts are almost always concentrated in rural areas of the island. Har%u00eda has suffered cuts on 61% of all days of the year, while Tinajo%u2019s figure is 53% and San Bartolom%u00e9%u2019s is 42%. The main population centre, Arrecife, and the resorts are affected far less frequently, but the perceived favouritism towards the tourist industry has fuelled some of the anger on recent protests against mass tourism. Har%u00eda sees water cuts on six out of every ten days.