By PAULO SILVESTRE paulo.silvestre@theresidentgroup.com
Increased environmental awareness and the need to save money have led people in Portugal to cut back on their water consumption.
Water company EPAL, which supplies 2.8 million residents in the Lisbon area, has revealed that water use in the capital fell by 2% in 2010 and that this trend is set to continue this year.
Latest indicators show a reduction of 14 litres per day per person to 206 litres in 2010. The national average is 152 litres per day.
And Águas do Ribatejo, the company responsible for water supply and sanitation in seven councils in the country, said that consumers are saving more water and thus more money, particularly in view of the current economic crisis.
“In the first six months of 2011, water consumption dropped 24% over the same period last year and we are confident that, given the mild summer, the savings will be even more significant by the end of the year,” said a spokesman. “The change of habits in water consumption results from the concern of people regarding the environment but also for economic reasons. The fact that schoolchildren are learning in school about the proper use of water has contributed to the fall.”
Meanwhile, the President of the National Water Institute (INAG), Orlando Borges, said: “The Portuguese gained strong awareness of the needs to conserve water during the drought of 2005, which was the worst in the last hundred years.
“In addition to the multiple calls to save water, companies such as EPAL reinforced a strategy to combat water waste by repairing breakages and losses on pipes,” he said.
The north of the country is the region that uses the least water daily, with 130 litres per inhabitant, while the Algarve registered the highest consumption with more than 200 litres.
The Algarve Resident tried to contact water authority Águas do Algarve to obtain data about water consumption in the region but, at the time of going to press, no one was available to provide details.
Do you have a view on this story? Please email Editor Inês Lopes at ines.lopes@theresidentgroup.com
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