INCREASING DOMESTIC water reserves through a desalination process might bring more risks than benefits to the Algarve, says an expert from Instituto Superior Técnico, a Portuguese university.
According to Luís Ribeiro, professor and expert in hydrogeology, there are many risks in the way that the desalination process is being pushed by some people in the region. He recently published his theory in a report in Courrier International.
Only last week, Desidério Silva, president of Albufeira Câmara, announced that his office was working on a desalination project to cope with future needs in the district (see The Resident July 27 edition).
Some other local resorts and politicians are already talking very enthusiastically about the subject in the Portuguese media.
However, Luís Ribeiro said desalination requires thousands of kilowatts of energy just to power one sea water treatment centre. The impact on climate change, as a consequence of increased CO2 emissions, is high.
He also questions the impact on the ecosystems. Earlier this month, the World Wild Fund for Nature launched an alert, saying that Spain might face serious problems in thenear future due to an excess of desalination projects.
The organisation said the country is focusing on desalination and that this is destroying the underground water reserves.
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