Every drop counts
By Tracy Burton
Recent newspaper headlines like ‘Less water available in Portugal’
and ‘Algarve’s water reserves only last until end of 2020’
Every drop counts
By Tracy Burton
Recent newspaper headlines like ‘Less water available in Portugal’ and ‘Algarve’s water reserves only last until end of 2020’
Recent newspaper headlines like ‘Less water available in Portugal’ (Portugal News, 5 October) and ‘Algarve’s water reserves only last until end of 2020’ (Portugal Resident, 11 August) are alarming but not surprising. For many of us, it was the Algarve’s glorious climate – and famously low rainfall – which appealed.
Now rain – or rather the lack of it – is increasingly a topic of political concern.
As Portugal’s environment minister João Pedro Matos Fernandes told a climate change meeting in Loulé in February, it’s unlikely the rainfall in the Algarve will increase in the long term. The solution then must be more efficient management of this scarce resource, e.g. using treated wastewater for urban supply needs, including golf courses and crop irrigation, instead of drinking quality water.
In 2010, in its report Water Footprint in Portugal, the World Wildlife Fund found agriculture accounted for 78% of water demand; a decade on, the figure stands at 75% (Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation). Dry orchards of indigenous olive, cork and carob continue to be replaced with sprawling and well-irrigated fruit plantations. Leaks in ageing pipework account for even more ‘wasted’ water.
The Loulé-based non-profit organisation Associação Almargem believes large-scale societal change is needed – and fast. Simple changes based on the circular economy system – designing out waste, re-using materials and regenerating natural systems – would make a big difference. One example is not ‘over-purifying’ water for its intended purpose.
“We know water from urban sewage systems can be transformed to an adequate quality for agriculture with very little effort,” explains Almargem’s Patrícia Fernandes.
She suggests cities with historic water struggles could create a ‘green umbrella’ of low water-consumption trees and plants to trigger a natural cooling effect and reduce water needs. Rainwater could be collected and stored locally to maintain parks and gardens.
Education, too, is crucial. “Every student should be taught to cherish and care for their natural environment,” insists Patrícia. “So much can be lost in the span of a generation.”
How we can all help
In the face of such huge environmental challenges, is there really anything we can do as individuals to make a difference? Almargem believes there is and, earlier this year, it launched a public awareness campaign to highlight the problem of unrestrained water consumption.
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