olivefarmer

I think most people can make savings but there is a threshold where you have to ask “ do we live in a civilised affluent country?”

every summer for years our village had shortages in summer even with every household trying to only use 350 litres a day. Not easy in the campo especially with animals but do able. Then we were asked to reduce it further as the village well was now delivering less each day ( due of course to others draining the aquifer to water olive trees).

A friend in The Midlands has a neighbour who is a true water miser to save money. She “ steals” water from work to use at home. She flushes the toilet once a week. Apart from hygiene issues like not washing salad veg and so on, it backfired as the solids built up in the sewer and caused a blockage and she got a big bill.

Finknottle

12m³ (400 l) seems odd Lynn. I just estimated our daily consumption for the 2 of us as -

Dual flush toilet 45 l.
Bath / shower 100 l.
Washing up 40 l.
General 40 l.
Washing machine 20 l.

Total 245 l.

Is your meter ok?

Lynn R

That's 12m3 for two months, so 6,000 litres per month or 200 litres per day, divided by two people gives 100 litres per person per day (the limits mentioned earlier in the thread are per person, not per household).

I've no idea about our meter, we live in an apartment and all the meters are in a locked room on the ground floor so I could only see it if I asked the President of the community for the key. But our consumption has been at the same level ever since we moved to Spain 17 years ago, I can tell that because the bills have remained the same, and they were the same in our old house so it would have been too much of a coincidence if that meter had been faulty as well.

One thing I do think wastes water is that the hot water seems to take a long time to travel through the system until it comes out of the taps in the bathrooms so unless I want to end up with a washbasin full of coldish water some of it inevitably goes down the plughole until I can put the plug in. Not sure what I can do about that though. It's never a problem in summer because the water is slightly warm anyway so we don't need hot water to wash in, a lukewarm shower is more refreshing.

bobd22

An article in Sur re water issue in Málaga area
https://www.surinenglish.com/andaluc...124911-nt.html

Finknottle

Our common cost to includes water for 2 people so not sure what we are actually paying for, need to dive in and have a look! We do have a meter but I've never bothered with it due to above reason - perhaps I should!

growinspain

Fill a mop bucket with the water while waiting for it to get hot and use to clean the floor, water your plants or "flush" the toilet...

You can also save water by showering together...

Lynn R

I can't get a mop bucket under the taps in either of our bathroom washbasins - don't think I haven't thought of it! We don't even share a bathroom let alone a shower.

olivefarmer

we did all that. I think folk have gone doolally. The answer quite simply is to create more water. The pittance and consequently the savings made by domestic users is a mere drop in the ocean. The Spanish Med basin is not going to get regular more rain anytime soon but does have a thriving agricultural business. A huge economy and feeds the Northern countries. Alternative? Buy from none EU countries, let the farmers go to the wall against non EU farmers produce? Better use of what we do have plus many more desalination plants would help. Where the hell is Hidrografia when you need them?

this is all like the crusade to get everyone onto Electric cars ( the water users in houses) and conveniently forgetting the real polluters ( shipping including all those cruises) and aeroplanes especially private planes) but justifying it by saying we need to start somewhere….. It is time to wake up and better manage what we have. It really is all a joke. Who drives there car with the empty light on the fuel gauge ALL of the time? No one .

DLC

Up in Catalonia the Ebro needs to be connected to the Ter and Llobregat... but politicans still don't have the huevos to take on the farmers. They prefer to use desalination plants and bring in water by boat.

Fred James

You think that's bad. 20 years ago the EU paid Spain to build a huge dam south of Granada and create one of the biggest reservoirs in Spain. 20 years later they are just starting to connect it up to the distribution network!

Lynn R

It is reported in the press today that a consumption limit of 160 litres per person per day has been set for my area and the Costa del Sol. That's 50 litres or so above what we actually use so I am not worried about that. But how is that going to be enforced, by fining people who use more, or some other means, or more likely not enforced at all so totally useless. Press reports give no details.

Málaga y el Guadalhorce entran en nivel rojo de sequía: 160 litros para consumo por persona al día (malagahoy.es)

Finknottle

I was going to ask that question! How can they monitor, control, enforce these limits?

olivefarmer

Voluntary - so those that care carry those that don’t or by price.

When ourvillage water supply was refuced due to the well drying up, everyone pulled together. Regularmeterreadings and the shame of not contributing worked wonders. There will always be selfish people.

I still maintain there hasbeen too little forward planning. Imagine , if we all had to reduce our usage of electric, internet, vehicle fuel, air. Bit third world.

DLC

In Catalonia it'll be the water companies which will tell the Agencia Catalana de Agua how much every household is using which will pass the info on to each ayuntamiento and ayuntamientos have to come up with a model to fine households as they know how many people live in each house, details are still being worked out.

Or just sweep it under the carpet if e.g. they need to get some IT up and running which could take months or it's too close to elections.

I was expecting something a bit more worked out by now like automatic fine on the water bill. Not a law which announces restrictions and then a year more of everyone haggling to make it happen.

philat98

Thats a typical Italian engineering project. The mob would probably be providing the cement too.