Project lambasted as “senseless and harmful”
A recently-established association from Mértola in the Alentejo has filed a lawsuit to annul the Environmental Impact Declaration (DIA) for a project aimed at bolstering water supply to the Algarve through water extraction from the Pomarão area of the Guadiana River.
The Amigos da Formôa association (Friends of Formôa) announced the legal challenge, lodged on Monday, November 25 at the Administrative and Tax Court of Beja, contending that the project, managed by the public water company Águas do Algarve, poses severe risks to the local ecosystem and communities.
The project involves the extraction of surface water from the estuarine region of the Guadiana, near Pomarão, with the water transported via a pipeline to the Odeleite reservoir in Castro Marim. It is part of the Algarve’s Regional Water Efficiency Plan, which seeks to address the region’s severe and persisting drought issues, including those linked to the Beliche-Odeleite system.
The association is adamant, however, that the project is “highly damaging to the municipality of Mértola and the Guadiana River, especially the Pomarão area and the community of Formôa”.
According to the association, the project is based on “false data” that fails to consider available water resources on either the Spanish or Portuguese sides, particularly those of the Alqueva-Pedrógão system.
“In essence, this could be a water extraction project where there is no water to extract, making it highly irresponsible,” the association argued.
The group also criticised the lack of consideration for local communities, stating that the project was “developed without involving Mértola, the municipality most affected by its impacts, in the decision-making process.”
“When the project was put out for public consultation, one of the key factors determining its approval or rejection – its location – had already been decided,” the association states.
Named after the small village of Formôa near Pomarão, the association claims that the project also “disrespects the region’s heritage and biodiversity.”
“The Environmental Impact Study itself admits that it will destroy biodiversity, threaten species on the brink of extinction – such as the saramugo (Anaecypris hispanica), or Spanish minnow carp in English – and increase salinity intrusion, among other irreversible and unmitigable damages that the DIA fails to address,” the statement said.
The Amigos da Formôa warned that the project could lead to significant impacts “without any certainty that there will be sufficient water for extraction by Águas do Algarve at Pomarão.”
The association is thus seeking the annulment or invalidation of the DIA, arguing that such a decision would immediately protect the Guadiana River from “a senseless and harmful project.”
During the 35th Iberian Summit, held in Faro in late October, Portugal and Spain agreed on an annual maximum extraction volume of 30 cubic hectometres at Pomarão for the Algarve’s water supply, as stated in the joint declaration.
