Portugal’s Algarve Region Kickstarts The National ‘Don’t Waste Water’ Campaign

Portugal’s Algarve region has inaugurated a national campaign designed to raise awareness of the increasing drought problem that the country finds itself experiencing.

The campaign is part of an initiative that is being promoted throughout the country but was launched in the south this Sunday, June 18.

Just like its Spanish neighbour, Portugal is caught in the grip of a worrying situation that, despite the recent rainfall, has seen water supplies dropping.

Águas de Portugal Group (AdP) is promoting this campaign, using the slogan ‘Água é vida – não a desperdice’ (Water is life – don’t waste it).

They are joined – in what will eventually spread nationwide in several phases – by ERSAR, the Regulating Entity of Water and Residues Services, along with the Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA). The effort is financed by the Environmental Fund.

As reported by portugalresident.com, the initiative’s aim is to: ‘promote practices which encourage the efficient use of water in the current context of drought and water scarcity’.

In a joint statement with the others, the AdP explained: ‘Water, a precious commodity, essential to all aspects of life on Earth, is an increasingly scarce resource due to the effects of climate change. Therefore, it is time to act’.

‘There are structural solutions to combat scarcity that are being adopted, but we must all contribute to reducing water consumption, adjusting behaviours, making adequate use of the resource and combating waste’, it continued.

It stressed: ‘An open tap can waste 12 litres of water in just one minute. If each person wastes one minute of water per day in Portugal, that’s 120 million litres of water, enough to meet the daily basic needs of one million people. Water is essential to life and deserves our full attention. Be more aware and avoid unnecessary expenses’.

The Algarve was chosen for the launch of this campaign because the region is: ‘the territory most affected by drought and water scarcity’.

Not only that, with summer upon us, the population suddenly experiences a huge increase, almost doubling in size when the tourists arrive.

As a result, it gives the authorities the perfect opportunity to promote its water-saving initiative to these travellers at regional events, in shopping centres and of course, at the stunning beaches that attract these tourists to the south of Portugal.