besides the available literature dealing with water requirements of heavy pigs never considered behavioural traits. According to the cited references, water consumption varies from 4.5 to 20 L/pig/day. Gill et al. (1987) recorded voluntary water consumption of 0.44 L in growing-finishing pigs fed at a 3:1 water-to feed ratio. More recently Brumm et al. (2000)confirmed the wide range in water use and dependence of water use and manure volume upon feeder and drinker type. The Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) Directive reference document (EU, 2003) clearly states that water should be efficiently used in order to reduce water waste and manure production. Even if a reduction in animals’ water consumption is not among the IPPC recommendations, they acknowledge the existence of some production strategies that include restricted water access.