Staggering Water Demand for Proposed Water Park
The planned Siam Park in Gran Canaria would consume 3,563 cubic metres of water per day, equivalent to the usage of approximately 20,739 residents of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, the municipality where the project is proposed. Documents for the initiative, made public this week, detail that the future water park would use a quarter of the water consumed by the entire town (14,390 cubic metres).
An Exponential Increase in an Arid Zone
This represents an exponential increase in consumption for a location—the south of Gran Canaria—with a warm desert climate. The area is characterised by high temperatures, a high to very high risk of desertification, arid soils, and vegetation surviving under water stress. The climate crisis is projected to reduce the already scarce rainfall by up to 25%, and high levels of sunshine mean there are an average of 259 clear days per year.
Project Presses Ahead Despite Environmental Context
All this information is contained in the new Plan for Modernisation, Improvement and Increased Competitiveness for El Veril, which also includes the construction of a five-star hotel with around 450 tourist beds. Yet none of this appears to be an impediment to halting the eagerly awaited project by the Kiessling tourism group, the owners of Loro Parque, Siam Park in Tenerife, and the Poema del Mar aquarium in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The high water expenditure is justified, quite simply, on the grounds that the desalination plants in the south of the island can produce it. The Maspalomas I and Maspalomas II plants together generate about 38,500 cubic metres of water per day, a capacity deemed sufficient to meet the demand. Reports drafted by the public company Gesplan indicate that nearby reservoirs could store enough water to supply the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana for three consecutive days.
Project Reactivated After Legal Setback
The details of the 165,000-square-metre initiative came to light this week following the start of its new administrative processing. An announcement in the Official Bulletin of the Canary Islands (BOC) of the Strategic Environmental Assessment procedure grants the public 45 days to analyse the information and submit objections. Dozens of public bodies at state, regional, island, and local levels have also been called for consultation.
The reactivation of the Gran Canaria Siam Park comes more than three years after the Supreme Court annulled the previous plan due to the absence of a report from the Island Water Council certifying the existence and availability of water resources to carry out a water park. That pronouncement, in fact, has still not been made.
Environmental Risks and Habitat Degradation
The project coincides with an area of significant flood risk where new constructions could increase water speed, requiring specific measures to avoid damage from torrential rains. The installation of water treatment plants is also demanded, as the park would generate a volume of wastewater—some 3,565 cubic metres daily—that could strain the capacity of current systems.
Furthermore, the area hosts a habitat of community interest: thermo-Mediterranean scrubland, whose condition is classified as unfavourable-bad. It has lost between 48% and 55% of its vegetation cover since 2016 due to earth movements and the channelling of the El Veril ravine. There is also a widespread presence of autochthonous species, notably fountain grass. The vandalism of specimens of Canary Island spurge has been detected.
Uncontrolled dumps of solid waste (rubbish, scrap metal, containers) and occasional liquid discharges of poorly managed wastewater have also been found. The landscape is defined as a degraded environment acting as a border between the rural and urban areas.
Strategic Project Promising Jobs and “Sustainability”
The Gran Canaria Siam Park was declared of general and strategic interest by the Cabildo (Island Council) of Gran Canaria in 2014, then presided over by José Miguel Bravo de Laguna (Partido Popular). It also achieved this consideration from the regional Government of the Canary Islands in 2015, during the first term of Fernando Clavijo (Coalición Canaria) at the head of the regional executive.
The development promises the creation of 500 jobs during construction and 300 direct operational positions. The plan suggests that San Bartolomé de Tirajana is a “post-mature or obsolete tourist destination” that needs to evolve from the traditional sun-and-beach model towards one of “sun, beach and entertainment”. In its 109-page information report alone, the word “sustainability” is used 31 times. “Green” is used 25 times. And “circular”, a total of ten.
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