Water saving campaign to be launched

The contract for a Balearic water saving awareness campaign was put up for public tender yesterday by the Balearic government. While the government sets about trying to find water for the summer, the authorities also want the general public, farmers and the tourist sector to help by being more careful about water consumption. Presidential Secretary, Antoni Garcías, also revealed yesterday that the government is developing a series of emergency measures which can be brought into immediate operation if the water situation deteriorates further over the summer. The emergency proposals will be tabled and approved at the next meeting of the Balearic Water Council. The government has also set up an interdepartmental commission to monitor developments and keep track of different projects and measures which are being used elsewhere in the world to ease the effects of droughts. The government also hopes that the commission will serve to “guarantee efficiency and co-ordination” with regards to trying to solve the water crisis and any other water problems that may crop up over the summer. Introducing restrictions is a possible option the government could introduce shortly but the authorities are hoping that the 60 million peseta campaign to encourage consumers to save water will prevent drastic action from being taken.