The water is supplied by the Emaya tap water network and has a simple filtration system for improving the taste of the water. There is a system for drinking, although this doesn't involve a container, while there is a separate means of delivering water for allowing dogs to drink.
Three of these fountains had previously been installed - in Plaça Mercat, on Carrer Sant Miquel, and in the square in Pere Garau. Thirty more are now being put in place, the first having been installed last week in Plaça Santa Pagesa and on the corner of Carrer Jacint Verdaguer with Balmes. Another will shortly appear in El Molinar. Definitive decisions regarding the siting of the others have yet to be made, but they will be in places where there are most people.
Emaya says that its tap water has all health guarantees for human consumption and is constantly analysed. The agency adds that increasing numbers of people are drinking it, the water having been filtered for home consumption in the same way as it is with the fountains on streets and in squares. Every time that a reusable bottle is used for water from the fountains, the use of single-use bottles is avoided.
It is calculated that each resident of the Balearics currently consumes an average of 175 litres of bottled water per annum. Equivalent to 117 bottles with 1.5 litres, this means a cost of 61 euros per person and the generation of five kilos of plastic waste. In Palma, 2,000 tonnes of this waste is created each year.
5 comments
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Would it not be a better idea to sort out the sewage leaking on the beaches rather than tap water? Whilst I support all eco initiatives, getting the basics right first is a priority for both the residents and tourism. Mass building at the resorts has ignored the fact that more sewage is produced. Port Pollenca has beach sewage every year. This is not acceptable and with covid, tourists can now look elsewhere. Just get it done.
I've drunk tap water for 20 years and it's the best one and much cheaper than the bottled water. It's very comfortable not carrying containers every week from the supermarket and it's environmentally-friendly cause you don't consume plastic.
I do like the dog - would never drink municipal Spanish water!
I don’t drink the water from our taps, absolutely no trust in it. There have been days when it has come out in a dubious hue of brown. Even the dog wouldn’t touch it. Colin is quite right. Sort the domestic supply out. And while they are at it sort out the sewage problems so that beaches don’t get closed when it rains and better rain capture is needed too. A new reservoir wouldn’t be a bad idea. Some of Mallorca’s infrastructure might look modern but under the surface it’s a different story.
How about making the tap water drinkable? Surely it’s a basic human necessity in a western country in the 21st century to have access to drinkable water on tap in the home? If governments are really serious about ending plastic pollution they could invest in real progress by sorting out their water quality.