TW
0

THE residents of Palma consume 126 litres of water each per day, a figure which is below the Balearic average of 130 litres a day, according to Palma council's deputy mayor for the Environment, Catalina Terrassa. During the presentation of the water saving campaign being promoted by the council and the Local Agenda 21, Terrassa said that, in spite of the increase in population registered during the last few years, the consumption of water in the capital “has not increased in proportion to the number of inhabitants”. In this respect she argued that “residents have changed their habits with regard to the use of water resources”.
To save water, the council has started this campaign during which four mobile information offices will deliver 25'000 brochures which, through “simple” advice, will help residents save “some 70 litres of water a day”, she said. “Showering instead of taking a bath and cleaning your teeth with the tap turned off are habits which help to save water, but at times we don't take this into account”, she stressed. She said that 85 information posters will also be installed in bus shelters. The campaign, which starts on July 11 and finishes on July 24, is one of the main actions by Palma council for the saving of water, which will be accompanied by a study of 1'000 homes to determine their water consumption, “before and after these measures are applied”. “In spite of the fact the water reserves are at 65 percent, we can't drop our guard” said Terrassa, who added that among the actions the council had taken on this matter were the initiatives to install individual water meters in homes, progressive tariffs to control water usage and the recycling of treated water “which allows a 20 percent saving on drinking water”. With regard to water losses through leaking pipes, Terrassa said that it is calculated at between 24 and 28 percent, although she hinted that these “are not just due to pipes in bad repair”, but also “there is water which is not counted, such as that used by the council and in schools” which, she said, reduces the actual losses to some 18 percent. Terrassa said that the council are maintaining “an on-going programme of renovation in the water network of the city”.