Gomerans may drink natural mineral tap water directly at their homes according to the president of the Island Council of La Gomera, Casimiro Curbelo, who stresses that an analysis performed by the laboratory Oliver Rodés in Barcelona highlights the excellent quality of the flow produced by the new Ipalán groundwater gallery, located in the zone of Barranco Seco, San Sebastián de La Gomera.

Curbelo also notes that the production from the facilities has been described as "natural mineral water” by the experts of the referred laboratory, considered as the most prestigious in Spain. The works of the Ipalán gallery are part of the Insular Hydrological Plan carried out by the Cabildo de La Gomera through the Island Water Council, and are financed by the state government with 9,8 million euros.

“The flow of Ipalán gallery is currently at 54 litres of water per second”, according to Carlos Soler who is the author of the project and director of the work. “Anyhow this is a timely rise which occurs because we have drilled through a dike system and hence we have entered a new compartment of the aquifer. We will have to wait until the flow stabilizes to know the average production of the gallery.”

"In any case, it is a reality that the new flow increases production, which already allows the free supply of the entire population of San Sebastian de La Gomera, and will continue to ensure the provision of the municipalities of Agulo and Hermigua as well", Curbelo adds and recalls that the Island Council of La Gomera does not charge any costs of the water and thus local corporations are setting the price paid by the citizens.

The president states that the drilling of the gallery has reached a depth of 1.950 metres and is expected to advance at least 50 metres more, to meet the objective described in the referred Insular Hydrological Plan, where the distribution of resources is organized in a comprehensive manner and based on the transfer of water resources to meet the needs of all population centres.

"The benefits of any infrastructure are extended to all the municipalities on La Gomera, regardless of the municipality in which the resource is located", he insists before pointing out that currently the obtained water is not directed to the supply network of the population but to irrigate crops, which is how it shall be during the drilling works due to health issues.

Curbelo reminds that if the works proceed as planned, the Ipalán gallery will be completed before next summer, and adds that the Island Water Council is also working on other parts of the island, as in Valle Gran Rey, where new facilities of the El Altito groundwater gallery are being constructed, to complete the strategy designed according to the hydrological configuration of La Gomera – the south of the island has the major groundwater resources which have to be transferred to all the Gomeran municipalities.

The insular president concludes that despite the good news it will be necessary to improve the municipal grids to avoid losses and optimize the use of these resources, “that in no case involves the overexploitation of aquifers of the island of La Gomera, as we speak of the recovery of filtered rainwater which is localized and conserved for use according to people's needs”, making a clear allusion to the underground reservoirs included in the construction of the new galleries in order to maintain the obtained resources.