New app extension points users to the nearest drinking fountain in Madrid

This is the city’s way to mark World Water Day

Today is World Water Day, which has been celebrated since 1993 as a reminder of the possible most precious resource that sustains life on the planet. To mark the occasion, the Madrid City Council announced today that a new function has been added to its Madrid Móvil application – one that shows the location of the city’s drinking fountains.

The new tool shows the user the fastest way to reach the fountain, and it also shows the location of the nearest public toilets, so that a walk around the city can turn into a truly carefree experience. The app extension, however, aims to encourage people to turn to the quality tap water that the city provides rather than purchase bottled water and thus increase plastic pollution.

Efficient use of water

The Spanish capital has a total of 2,023 drinking water sources located in green areas and public roads in the districts. Right now, 1,093 are in service, the rest remain closed to avoid damage from possible frost, but their opening is scheduled for the next few days. 

The fountains are reviewed monthly and cleaning, disinfection, checking of the hydraulic system, the drainage and all the elements that compose them are carried out. In addition, refurbishment work is carried out on those that may present drinking water connection problems or adaptation to accessibility regulations.

Madrid also has a large number of ornamental fountains and is considered one of the European cities with the largest number of installations of this type, adding a total of more than 560. They represent an important artistic heritage due to their antiquity and design or representation of art from different eras.

Furthermore, the City Council aims to reduce the consumption of potable water for other, non-drinking, uses. Madrid uses alternative water resources such as the regeneration of wastewater, which involves the use of water from the treatment plants of the city's sanitation system. 

The use of alternative water resources from subsoil wells and water trips is also carried out. The City Council has restored the Amaniel and Fuente del Berro water trips, with which green areas can be irrigated. The ‘water trip’ (viajes de agua) technology of channelling water from small sources through galleries was brought to Spain by the Arabs during their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula.

With these and other initiatives, the city has managed to save up to 20% in drinking water consumption in recent years.