This time of year, towns across the region light up for Christmas. It’s well worth seeing the seasonal decorations in São Brás de Alportel and in nearby Loulé.

Today, 22 March, is World Water Day — a day to reflect on our use of this finite resource. Here, we’ve taken the chance to look at our own numbers.

According to PORDATA data (2021), average daily water use per person is 173 litres in Portugal, 319 litres in the Algarve, and 228 litres in São Brás de Alportel. The World Health Organisation estimates that a person’s basic needs — cooking, personal and household hygiene — are well met with 50 to 100 litres a day.

At Ecopark, average daily use per person is 30 litres — below even the WHO’s lower recommended limit.

It’s no accident: showers run for 5 minutes and are solar-heated, taps are timed and flow-regulated, and there’s no lawn to water on the pitches. Add guests who, living in a motorhome, already know how to make the water on board last, and that’s how you get to 30 litres.