The company in charge of the integral water cycle management in Lanzarote, Canal Gestión, has issued a press release to "focus" on what it considers the "worrying" water consumption on the island. According to the subsidiary of Canal Isabel II of Madrid on the island, plagued by constant supply cuts, it "consumes as much domestic and tourist water" as in 2015. However, it does not specify how much of that water is consumed by the resident population and how much by visitors, despite the various studies that reveal that the tourist population consumes more water than the local population worldwide
Canal Gestión has issued this statement within the framework of World Water Day, this Saturday, March 22. Thus, it has highlighted that on the island "193 liters per person are consumed daily, twice as much as the UN recommends for sustainable use of the resource." According to Canal, "this trend reveals that, despite awareness programs, individual measures are still insufficient."
Canal speaks of "unrestrained consumption"
The analysis of daily water consumption in Lanzarote and La Graciosa shows "a worrying evolution in the last decade." To which it has added that "in 2014, consumption per person was already at 180 liters per day," while a year later that consumption "shot up to 194 liters per day, with a slight downward trend until 2019, when 187 liters per day were recorded." However, in 2020 "there was a collapse to 159 liters per day, a drop linked to the pandemic and the tourism shutdown." Since then, "consumption has grown again, reaching 193 liters per day in 2024, which reflects the need to continue advancing in more sustainable and efficient consumption habits."
In comparison with other regions
In the Canary Islands, the average consumption is about 115 liters per person per day. - In Spain, the figure amounts to 128 liters per day. Meanwhile, it argues that "the UN recommends 80 liters per day as a sustainable level."
This mismatch shows that in Lanzarote "an intensive use of water is still being made, which is not sustainable on an island without natural water resources and which depends completely on desalination, a process with high energy and economic costs."
Every oversight adds liters: a campaign for change
The campaign Water lost in silence that Canal Gestión Lanzarote launches on its website evidences that each “oversight” adds liters and that small gestures can generate a positive impact and make a difference. Every liter counts, and that is why a series of tips and practical actions have been developed that we can all apply in our day to day, from when we get up until we go to bed, to reduce consumption and lower the 193 liters per person per day.
On the campaign website, citizens can access detailed information on how to reduce their consumption and measure their impact on water use, as well as obtain data on consumption in the last decade.
The "active participation of both residents and tourists is key to changing the trend. Canal Gestión Lanzarote invites everyone to visit the campaign page, get informed and join the commitment to a more sustainable and efficient consumption."
World Water Day reminds us that change is in our hands. If individual and collective measures are not taken, the trend will continue to rise, moving further and further away from the recommended levels of sustainability. Every gesture counts to guarantee the water of the future. Every drop counts and every action matters.