The Minister of the Environment assured yesterday that a new bore for water capture in the municipality of Almada will come into operation by the end of the weekend, increasing the system’s capacity by about 20%.
Maria da Graça Carvalho also said that the current constraints in water supply in Almada, in the Setúbal district, should be resolved within two to three weeks and that the measures taken in the meantime will progressively improve the situation.
“We are talking about two or three weeks, but the measures being taken to stabilize the system will progressively improve the situation,” said Maria da Graça Carvalho after a meeting of several hours with the president of the Almada City Council and with the presidents of the Portuguese Environment Agency, Águas de Portugal and EPAL.
The two to three weeks projected, she specified, do not mean that the entire territory will be without water for that entire period, but that this is the timeframe in which water should return to the necessary levels.
The minister explained that, at present, Almada has a consumption of 300 litres per day per inhabitant when the Portuguese average is 180 litres per day per inhabitant, i.e., almost double, with a 4% increase in certain areas over the last six months.
Facing this scenario, she stated, it has become “necessary and urgent” to stabilize the system and increase water sources, hence the Almada City Council has a new bore that will come into operation by the end of the weekend and that “will already increase capacity by about 20%.”
In addition to that bore, Maria da Graça Carvalho noted, another one has been identified, “this one indeed very large,” which “will practically supply the amount of water needed,” although she warns of the need to conserve this resource.
This second bore, the official explained, is in the licensing process, and the Government and the Portuguese Environment Agency guarantee that it will be licensed immediately.
The municipality of Almada, in the Setúbal district, is on alert following the water supply failures reported in recent days in several localities of the municipality, with particular impact on Costa da Caparica.
Already the president of the Almada Municipal Chamber, Inês de Medeiros (PS), explained that the monitoring system, whether for the safety of infrastructure or for water losses, shows that most of the increase in water consumption is not related to ruptures.
“We are, in fact, facing a very substantial and unpredictable increase,” said Inês de Medeiros, adding that there are several contributing factors, among them the growth of the resident population, but also the population that comes to the area during the summer.
“The peak period in Almada is always in the second half of July, and this year it began in May,” she said.
The second reason, she noted, is that water is leaking out of the system and is not being reflected in billing.
“We still need to investigate further, and that is why all of our inspection teams are on the ground,” she stressed, adding that the reasons for the water-supply problems recorded last year are not the same as those that exist this year.
“It is very important that people know that the most critical and poorest areas of our municipality have reduced water consumption. At the moment, the largest consumptions are, in fact, in the areas most used during the summer, which are Costa da Caparica, Charneca and Sobreda,” she added.
These areas, according to Inês de Medeiros, are also the ones that have seen more construction, not excluding the idea that it may be related to the easing granted to municipalities regarding licensing rules.
