Los Campitos Reservoir

Los Campitos Reservoir is located in the Anchieta ravine, near Los Campitos, above Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. The dam was constructed in the 1970s, after which it was discovered that the basin could not hold water. It was subsequently waterproofed in 1978, but has never held water. It was remodeled in the early 2000s, with an enclosed tank and a new pipeline constructed. A study has been conducted to build a hydroelectric plant at the reservoir.

Construction

The dam was constructed in the Anchieta ravine to increase the water supply to Santa Cruz de Tenerife. It was constructed by the Spanish Ministry of Public Works, starting in 1969, and cost 373 million pesetas. The dam is tall, and is made of reinforced concrete. It encloses a basin with an area of, which could hold 4.2 million cubic metres of water.
During commissioning in 1975, it was discovered that the basin was permeable and could not hold water. After a meeting in the parliament in Madrid, an urgent repair was authorised, and the basin was waterproofed in May 1978 at a cost of 300 million pesetas. Despite this, the dam has never held water.

Remodeling

In 2002–04 the reservoir was remodeled at a cost of €5.8 million. A tank with an area of and a height of, capable of holding 77,000 cubic metres of water, was constructed next to the basin. The basin itself was remodeled, to cover a cubic hectometer with the maximum height of water reduced to. A pressurised pipeline was also constructed from the base of the reservoir to La Laguna, with a length of and a diameter of, along with a pumping station.

Hydroelectric plant

In 2012, a technical study was made to construct a hydroelectric plant at the reservoir, which was estimated to cost €36.6 million, and was estimated to recover its construction costs after five years of operation.