There is something you quickly notice in Lanzarote. The landscape is raw, almost lunar. Beautiful, yes, but also dry. Very dry.

What’s less visible, however, is the story behind it. A story of scarcity, ingenuity, and deep respect. Because if there is one thing that has shaped life on this island more than anything else, it is water or rather, the absence of it.

For centuries, Lanzarote has lived with less than 150 mm of rainfall per year. No rivers, no natural lakes, and only a few unreliable underground sources. Water was never a given; it was something to be collected, protected, and carefully managed.

Before modern infrastructure, islanders relied entirely on rainwater. Every drop mattered. Houses were designed (and still are) to channel water from rooftops into aljibes (underground cisterns where it can be stored for months. Espacio Fenómena has its own). Across the island, you can still find maretas, large open reservoirs built to capture and hold rainwater after rare storms.

In rural areas, people also used shallow wells and natural depressions to access what little water they could. But it was never enough.

When the rains didn’t come, which was often, water had to be brought from elsewhere. Ships arrived from nearby islands carrying fresh water, which was then distributed across Lanzarote in barrels. Camels and carts transported it inland, and water carriers became an essential part of daily life.

By the mid-20th century, as the population grew, these traditional systems could no longer keep up. Wells were drilled, including galleries in the Famara massif, but the water quality was poor and the supply remained limited.

The turning point came in 1964, when Lanzarote became a pioneer in Europe with the installation of its first seawater desalination plant in Arrecife. It was a bold and forward-thinking move, one that would change the island forever.

By 1965, desalinated water was already flowing through the network, making it possible to sustain both the local population and the island’s future development. Lanzarote had, in a way, reinvented itself, turning the ocean that surrounds it into its main source of life.

Today, nearly all the water used on the island comes from desalination. It’s an extraordinary achievement, but it also comes with a cost. Producing fresh water from the sea requires a significant amount of energy and resources.

Which brings us to the present.

As visitors, it’s easy to take water for granted; long showers after the beach, taps left running without much thought… But here, water is still a precious resource.

In places like Tinajo, for example, it’s not uncommon to experience 2 to 4 days a week without running water, relying instead on water tanks.

So this is simply an invitation: to be aware, to use water with care, and to remember that behind every drop, there is a long story of resilience, innovation, and respect.

In Lanzarote, water is not just part of the landscape.
It is part of its identity.

For those curious to explore further, there’s a nice walk to the Casa del Agua in Famara, a place that tells part of this story. You can find how to get there in this article.