the team of people behind a priority social service. Pioneers in reverse osmosis, they guarantee a supply of water to some 45,000 residents of Gran Canaria every day, on an island with almost no fresh water. by Patricia Alcorta photo Jacobo Medrano THE ARUCAS-MOYA DESALINATION PLANT Cristo Melián Rodríguez Plant Operator “I’m responsible for making sure the entire facility runs properly, which involves exhaus-tive supervision of the checks and parameters for each process, detection of anomalies for correction, and coordination with the plant manager to ensure compliance with con-trol criteria”. It’s like being at the helm of a complex, high-tech ship that’s working to serve Gran Canaria.” Idaira Sánchez Santana Plant Manager “My priorities include ensuring the highest standard of quality for our treated water and the smooth operation and maintenance of the plant, as well as safety, training, compliance with strin-gent environmental criteria, and analysis of all information generated. We are a critical facili-ty, which is why I liaise constantly with our client, the Gran Canaria Island Water Council, to guarantee and even improve upon our servic-es.” Cristo Marrero Machín Mechanical Maintenance Operator “My daily work involves resolving electrical and mechanical incidents to ensure there are no interruptions in our water supply services, which are of crucial importance. I also update maintenance records, which is a preventive control measure that’s essential to avoid future issues. In addition, I have training on the discharge of hazardous materials and am qualified to handle plant pro-tection products and do paint-ing and welding jobs.”