Portugal loses enough water to supply a third of the country — and Quercus has ten fixes
Portugal's supply networks lost 187.3 million cubic metres of water in 2024 — 8.7 Olympic pools per hour, worth 158 million euros — according to regulator data. Environmental group Quercus has proposed ten measures to cut the waste.
While the country sweats through the heat and takes shorter showers, the public water network is pouring away the equivalent of 8.7 Olympic swimming pools every hour. The numbers come from the sector regulator: in 2024, Portugal’s supply networks lost 187.3 million cubic metres of water before it reached a single tap — waste valued at 158 million euros, and enough to supply a third of the Portuguese population for free.
How much water does Portugal’s public network lose?
187.3 million cubic metres in a year, according to the latest annual report on water and waste services. The problem isn’t evenly spread: some operators run modern networks with losses under control, while at others the water lost rivals the water billed. That picture is what led environmental group Quercus to present a ten-measure package this week to attack the waste.
What does Quercus propose to cut the water losses?
Three main fronts: strengthening regulator ERSAR’s powers to enforce network renewal — replacing old pipes stops being optional —, cracking down on illegal connections with real penalties, and investing in awareness campaigns for saving water. The full package is published on the Quercus site, and the sector’s official data on the ERSAR portal.
The timing could hardly be more pointed: the warning lands the same week maximum wildfire danger spread across dozens of councils and every drop counts double. Asking the Portuguese to turn off the tap while the network leaks 158 million euros a year is an increasingly hard conversation to have with a straight face.
Image: Shamrock Lee / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
