António Pina, president of the Intermunicipal Community of the Algarve, said that the region has “water for 12 months” and advocates that – “if it continues without rain” – the territory can reach the “end of 2023 without water for public supply”.
To Expresso, António Pina defended that, in this scenario, it is “necessary to impose extraction quotas”, and it is necessary to “end the concept of groundwater belonging to private landowners, which makes public management impossible”. .
According to the seminar, which cites data from the Portuguese Environment Agency, the hydrographic basins of the Barlavento Algarve are at 9% of their capacity and those of the Sotavento at 32%. Although the rains in September have slightly improved the outlook, the situation remains critical.
Due to the scarcity of water, the Algarve implemented measures at the beginning of summer, such as the closure of public swimming pools or the suspension of irrigation of green spaces. This contributed to “to reduce water consumption by 5%-6%” in the municipalities of the Algarve, indicated António Pina, who pointed out that, even so, in June “the consumption of water in the public supply circuit was already 7% higher than that registered in 2019.”
António Pina considers that, if it doesn’t rain until January, the measures should go further. On the table is the “non-distribution of water for agriculture or the increase in higher levels of consumption, specifically for those who have swimming pools and gardens or consumption greater than 15 m3/month”.
Source: Observadora
