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A drought may be defined as the temporal lack of water caused necessarily but not exclusively by an abnormal climatic situation which may affect negatively the population, the economic activities and the environment (Kallis, 2008). In 2007-2008 the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona (MRB) suffered an acute drought that threatened the availability of drinking water. According to records of the last 60 years, the precipitation deficit was the worst registered to date. Besides precipitation deficits, the urbanization process also appears as a factor responsible for the occurrence of drought episodes. Around five million people live in the MRB where domestic consumption accounts for nearly 70% of the total water demand. Furthermore, the everincreasing suburbanization process creates new uses of water such as irrigation of private gardens and swimming pools which demand important volumes of the resource. Coupled, these natural and social factors are conducive to droughts. The drought period began in early 2007. In February that year the first awareness campaign with the message “In order to have water, close the tap” was launched to promote domestic water savings. Furthermore, the government approved a drought decree in April 2007 which mandated the adoption of a series of exceptional measures to stimulate water savings. In August 2007, the inner basins of Catalonia entered the stage of exceptionality I, as reservoirs fell at 40.5% of their capacity.

As the situation was far from improving, in 2008 the government launched another public campaign that entailed the distribution of more than 650.000 water saving kits given away for free with …