“We have to act,” says Portugal’s minister for the environment
Portugal’s minister for the environment and energy said on Wednesday that the time is now to execute the projects planned for the region to increase its water availability.
Maria da Graça Carvalho was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony of the Lagos Wastewater Treatment Plant (ETAR), one of the events she had scheduled for the Algarve today.
“Water is a priority for our government and water in the Algarve is even more of a priority, if I can put it that way, because it’s the region in the country with the most problems with lack of water. It’s no longer a drought, it’s already become permanent, and so we already live in a regime of scarcity and we have to act,” said the minister.
Maria Graça Carvalho said that the way to act has already been defined and consists of a “set of measures that include water saving campaigns, reusing (treated) water, especially for golf courses, irrigation, washing, and having projects to reduce losses, because there are still losses in water distribution in many municipalities in the Algarve”.
She emphasised that it is also necessary to “make existing infrastructures resilient” and build new ones if needed.
“We have funding for all of this in the PRR (Recovery and Resilience Plan), the Environmental Fund and, from tourism, we already have €260 million. The biggest slice is the PRR, around €240 million, very little of which has been executed, around 5%, and we need to move faster and implement these infrastructures,” she said.
Graça Carvalho stressed that there is guaranteed funding for the connection between the western and eastern Algarve, for the water intake from the Guadiana river from Pomarão to the Odeleite reservoir and for the desalination plant that will be located in Albufeira.
“We need to execute, execute quickly, because the PRR ends in 2026,” said the minister, also speaking of the new investments, totalling €103 million, which the government has announced to help the Algarve reach its water goals.
“Executing” these investments “as quickly as possible” have become the government’s focus, “because this set of construction works will provide the Algarve with 76 cubic hectometres of water per year”.
This figure “corresponds to one year’s urban consumption in the Algarve,” she stressed, warning that “we can’t waste this opportunity”.
Graça Carvalho confirmed that the government will revoke the February resolution that decreed cuts to water consumption in the Algarve region and prepare a new resolution, which “is practically ready” and should be taken to the Cabinet next week.
Source: LUSA
