On Tuesday, the 23rd of August, the Ribeira Brava Beach became centre stage for the new Águas e Resíduos da Madeira, S.A. (ARM), water saving campaign, ‘Save every drop of your island – Water is Life.’
The initiative was applauded by the Mayor, Ricardo Nascimento, who commented that climate change, such as periods of extreme temperatures and heavy rains that not only make it difficult to store water but also require another type of behavior on the part of the population.
“People have no idea, but if a family of four leaves the tap running while brushing their teeth, after two years this water would fill several Olympic swimming pools,” said Ricardo Nascimento, noting that despite the water running through the streams and waterfalls, “it is imperative that this precious resource be saved and treated as a sustainable resource.”
The same applies to irrigation water, which can register significant savings if “we change our watering habits, and move away from flooding the ground.”
The campaign promoted by ARM will travel through the various municipalities in the Region with the aim of raising awareness among the population of the need to preserve water. The chairman of ARM’s Board of Directors says that we need to appeal to everyone’s common sense, especially youngsters.
ARM Chairman, Amílcar Gonçalves showed that according to records the highest water usage is on Saturday mornings when people wash down the their patios, hose down blinds and wash their cars. We have to change, and it is simple changes such as turning the tap off when we brush our teeth and shower instead of taking baths.
He recalls that the Region only uses the water that falls on the territory and the impacts of climate change make it necessary to prepare water systems for periods of drought and heavy rain.
“We are reinforcing a series of origins, we are improving urban systems so that they do not lose so much water, and it is also the responsibility of all consumers to save as much water as they can.”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
