Mala dam gated off

Lanzarote’s Water Consortium has installed new railings and a gate at the disused dam in Mala, in order to improve safety at the site.

For several years, citizens have been able to access the walkway above the dam, with its dangerous, rusty railings, and the galleries inside the dam itself.

Now, the railings have been replaced and two padlocked gates installed to prevent access to the upper walkway. The galleries have also been closed off., and access will only be available to authorised personnel.

“There’s a 20-metre drop from the dam,” said Cabildo councillor Domingo Cejas.” We couldn’t let another day pass with this risk existing.”

The dam was the largest engineering project ever carried out on Lanzarote but never entered operation after the reservoir area was found to be too porous to hold sufficient water reserves.