Officials warn that “the Alqueva’s water isn’t unlimited” and that more has to be done to increase its volume.
Farmers in the Baixo Alentejo region have voiced their concerns about the proposed Alqueva dam delivering water to the Algarve, a matter currently under consideration, and defend the government’s proposal to increase the storage volume of the Alentejo reservoir.
Following the announcement made by Environment and Energy Minister Maria da Graça Carvalho in Faro on Sunday, there has been criticism regarding the study of the water supply to the Algarve from the Alqueva dam, which involves linking it to the Santa Clara dam in Alentejo and subsequently to Bravura in the Algarve.
According to Francisco Palma, president of the Baixo Alentejo Farmers Association (AABA), it seems illogical to expect that the Alqueva can satisfy the Algarve’s water demands, especially since the Algarve itself has the potential to generate more water resources.
Speaking with the Lusa agency, the agricultural director commented that he sees “the Alqueva’s role in fulfilling public needs as a tactic for electoral advantage and an example of political opportunism”.
Francisco Palma recalled that the Alqueva dam “was created and designed” to “address the water deficit that exists in the Alentejo, given the drought and irregularity” of the region’s climate. Therefore, he continued, before considering taking water from the Alqueva to the Algarve, it must first reach “the various locations in the Baixo Alentejo where it is needed”.
“The Alentejo is very big, and its water supply is small compared to the size of the territory”, he stressed.
Rui Garrido, president of ACOS – Associação de Agricultores do Sul, based in Beja, also told Lusa that he did not welcome a project that could involve “further water consumption from the Alqueva” and warned that “the Alqueva’s water isn’t unlimited”.
According to this official, in the near future, the region could face “three more years without rain”. “This has to be considered, and we have to think that, to supply so many people with water, we have to get more water into the Alqueva», he reinforced.
Therefore, the agricultural leader stressed that he does not understand “how so much water can come out without thinking about putting water in the Alqueva, namely water that comes from the north [of the country], where it rains more and there are more” water resources.
During the launch of the Water Pavilion in Faro, the Minister of Environment and Energy revealed that the link between Alqueva and the Algarve through the Santa Clara and Bravura dams can proceed after Spain approved the extraction of 60 cubic hectometers from the Guadiana River. “Provided that the ecological water levels of the Guadiana River are maintained, it permits the extraction of 30 cubic hectometers from Pomarão and an additional 30 cubic hectometers to reinforce Alqueva,” she stated.
The official indicated they are studying the viability of linking the Alqueva to the Mira Basin, which would connect to Santa Clara and the Bravura Dam.
The interconnection of the Alqueva dam to the Santa Clara and Bravura dams had already been defended on November 5 in a manifesto signed by 34 public and private entities in the Alentejo and the Algarve.
