March 22, World Water Day, with water up to our necks

Today, March 22 marks World Human Rights Day. Water to remember the relevance of this essential liquid. This celebration aims to raise awareness about the global water crisis and the need to seek measures to address it so that we achieve the Sustainable Development Goal: Water and Sanitation (SDG6) for all by 2030.

Perhaps this phrase that is from a movie, and that we sometimes use figuratively, today we would like it to be reality, in its most literal sense. Spain is suffering one of the largest drought processes in recent years, the most recent was recorded in 2017 when the month of September was the driest of the 21st century with only 15 l/m², 33% of the average.

This cyclical natural phenomenon is recorded in all countries bordering the Mediterranean, both on its European side and in North Africa. It is a common and foreseeable problem that requires planning and forecasting to prevent future droughts and problems in water supply.

However, it is no less worrying when the situation is repeated or accentuated by climate change.

When talking about drought, you not only have to look at the sky, but also at the earth. To this meteorological drought is added a hydrological drought; The reservoirs are well below their capacity, currently at 44% of their capacity and falling.

Listening to the Spanish proverb "we only remember Santa Barbara when it thunders", therefore small measures of awareness and readaptation of our way of living can help add drops of water.

Use water savers on all faucets and showers.  An aerator allows us to reduce water consumption by up to 50%. 

Do not use toilets as trash cans and make sure they do not leak, which saves water.

Avoid leaks or loss of water from distribution channels. Although it may seem incredible, between 10 and 15% of water is lost due to the poor condition of the pipes. To detect it, we must pay attention to the water bill: going from 33m3 in a billing period to 125m3 may mean that we have an undetected water leak.

And other complementary actions include planting trees, rationalizing water consumption, reusing elements, recycling and reducing the amount of waste, saving energy, among others.

How do we understand and raise awareness about water care in Fraternidad-Muprespa?

We have implemented an Environmental Management System, which implies the adoption of action guidelines to control the consumption of natural resources, which allow us to monitor possible leaks, losses or mismanagement of this resource.In addition, there is awareness work through the implementation of reduction objectives, news, emails and registration of environmental incidents and accidents.

What specific actions do we take? out?

At Fraternidad-Muprespa we have established awareness measures where our commitment to the environment is reflected:

• A Manual of Good Environmental Practices. 
• Implementation of water saving devices such as diffusers on faucets, and dual flush systems. 
• ___Water reuse system, coming from the sinks and showers of our Hospital Havana.