Why Is My Water Bill So High in Lanzarote? | Leakbusters

Here at Leakbusters Lanzarote, our team of leak detection specialists shares their expertise.

The Reality of Water Costs on Our Island

Opening a water bill in Lanzarote can sometimes feel like opening a surprise invoice. Unlike mainland Spain where natural reservoirs and rivers provide freshwater, our island produces every drop through energy-intensive processes.

Understanding where your water goes — and why it costs what it does — puts you in control of managing household expenses more effectively.

How Lanzarote Gets Its Water

Our island receives approximately 112mm of rainfall annually, making it one of the driest inhabited places in Europe. This scarcity means the Consorcio del Agua operates multiple systems to meet demand:

Reverse osmosis desalination at facilities in Arrecife and Playa Blanca converts seawater to potable water. This process requires significant energy, directly affecting the final cost per cubic metre.

Brackish water treatment taps underground aquifers containing water too salty for direct use but less costly to process than pure seawater.

Limited catchment during rare heavy rains adds marginally to supply but cannot be relied upon consistently.

The result? Water prices roughly 40% higher than the Spanish mainland average.

Diagnosing Elevated Consumption

Baseline Understanding

An average Lanzarote household of four typically uses between 12-15 cubic metres monthly. This accounts for:

Daily showers and personal hygiene

Kitchen use for cooking and dishwashing

Laundry cycles (approximately 8-10 weekly)

Toilet flushing

Occasional garden watering

If your consumption significantly exceeds this baseline without an obvious explanation, investigation is warranted.

The Usual Suspects

Malfunctioning toilet mechanisms rank as the single largest source of domestic water waste. A faulty flapper valve can release 300-500 litres daily without any visible sign. Multiply that by 90 days between meter readings, and the waste becomes staggering.

To test: Add several drops of food colouring to your toilet cistern. Wait thirty minutes without flushing. If colour appears in the bowl, your toilet is leaking.

Dripping fixtures seem minor but accumulate. A tap losing one drop per second wastes approximately 11,000 litres annually — enough to fill your garden aljibes twice over.

Irrigation inefficiencies particularly affect properties with automated systems. Timers set incorrectly, broken sprinkler heads, or subsurface pipe failures can double garden water consumption without visible benefit to plants.

Property-Specific Factors

Holiday rentals face unique challenges. Guest turnover means appliances run more frequently, and water usage habits vary dramatically between visitors. Pool maintenance during occupation periods adds substantially to consumption.

Older villas in developments from the 1980s often have galvanised steel service connections that corrode internally, creating slow leaks in buried sections.

Rooftop aljibe systems, common across the island, can develop cracks that cause constant refilling from the mains supply.

Swimming Pool Considerations

For properties with pools, water management becomes more complex:

Normal evaporative loss in summer reaches 5-7mm daily — meaning a 40 square metre pool loses 200-280 litres per day through evaporation alone. Monthly, this represents 6-8 cubic metres just maintaining levels.

Backwash cycles for sand filters consume 200-400 litres per cleaning. Weekly backwashing adds another cubic metre monthly.

Splash-out and swimmer drag removes water that cannot be measured precisely but adds to total loss.

When pool losses exceed calculated evaporation plus maintenance requirements, structural or plumbing leaks become likely causes.

Practical Reduction Strategies

Immediate Actions

Install aerating fixtures: Low-flow showerheads and tap aerators reduce consumption by 30-50% while maintaining acceptable pressure sensation.

Adjust toilet flush volumes: Dual-flush mechanisms or simple displacement devices in cisterns reduce per-flush usage.

Run appliances fully loaded: Modern dishwashers and washing machines use similar water quantities regardless of load size. Partial loads waste resources.

Garden Management

Embrace xeriscaping: Native Lanzarote plants and Mediterranean species tolerate our climate with minimal supplemental watering. Ornamental succulents and local lavender varieties thrive here naturally.

Schedule irrigation wisely: Watering between 5:00-7:00 AM minimises evaporative loss. Avoid midday irrigation entirely.

Consider drip systems: Direct-to-root watering uses 60-70% less water than spray irrigation while improving plant health.

Pool Management

Cover when not in use: A quality pool cover reduces evaporation by up to 95% and decreases chemical requirements.

Maintain proper chemistry: Balanced water requires less frequent backwashing and replacement.

Check equipment regularly: Small leaks in pump housings, filter connections, or return lines waste significant water over time.

When Professional Assessment Makes Sense

Consider expert evaluation when:

Consumption has increased without explanation over multiple billing periods

Visual inspection reveals no obvious sources

Your property exceeds twenty years of age

You've recently acquired a property with unknown maintenance history

Modern detection equipment can identify hidden leaks with minimal disruption, often paying for itself through subsequent water savings.

Viewing Water as the Resource It Is

Living on Lanzarote means appreciating that every litre arrives through human effort and energy expenditure. Managing consumption isn't just about controlling bills — it's about respecting the systems that make island life possible.

Small daily choices compound into significant differences over time. Your water bill reflects not just usage, but your relationship with one of our most precious resources.