The works on the desalination plant in Albufeira and the water intake from the Guadiana River at Pomarão will entail a joint investment of around 305 million euros, revealed yesterday by the new president of Águas do Algarve.
According to Helena Lucas, the Guadiana water intake project at Pomarão, in the municipality of Mértola, Beja district, to strengthen water supply to the Algarve via a link to the Odeleite dam, will represent an investment of 188.7 million euros, with a bid already submitted of 172.9 million euros to Sustainable 2030, a program funded by the Cohesion Fund.
The head of the company that manages the Algarve’s multimunicipal water supply and sanitation system stated that the tender for the Pomarão water intake project has already closed, with ‘seven proposals open to be evaluated in the coming months.’
The new president of Águas do Algarve, who took office on 2 October, spoke at a hearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and Energy about the Algarve’s water projects, requested by the PS parliamentary group.
Regarding the Algarve Sea Water Desalination Plant (EDAM), which is already under construction in the municipality of Albufeira, Faro district, it will cost 116.9 million euros, she indicated.
Águas do Algarve presented a bid of 110.3 million euros to Sustainable 2030, added Helena Lucas, estimating the desalination plant’s commissioning in the first quarter of 2029.
“Let us hope there will be no more delays, and that in 2029, which is our window of opportunity to build and put these facilities into service, we can, in fact, be confident about the Algarve’s water resilience,” stated the president of Águas do Algarve.
From Pomarão, which will allow an average annual capture of 16 cubic hectometres of water, “we will always have a possibility to guarantee annual water security, which we did not have before,” and with the desalination plant, which in a first phase is expected to produce 16 cubic hectometres of water per year, “we can replenish the levels to ensure there is always availability for public supply,” she explained.
According to Helena Lucas, it is currently necessary to capture “around 75 cubic hectometres of public water per year” to guarantee public supply in the Algarve.
The Portuguese Environment Agency revealed, at the end of September, that the Algarve region would begin the new hydrological year on 1 October with 74% storage across the six main reservoirs, totalling 328 million cubic metres, 13 million more than a year ago.
Also heard today in the Environment and Energy parliamentary committee, the president of the Algarve’s Regional Coordination and Development Commission stressed that the 16 municipalities in the region have underway water efficiency works in the urban water cycle totaling an estimated 120 million euros, aiming to reduce water losses from the current 20% “to levels of 15% by the end of the decade.”
José Apolinário revealed that the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) allowed “to carry out 106 million euros in investments in water in the Algarve,” in knowledge and monitoring of water resources, efficiency of the urban water cycle, wastewater treatment and improvement of the efficiency of irrigation systems.
The president of Turismo do Algarve, also heard in the same parliamentary committee, said that about 130 Algarve tourist establishments – representing about 30% of the region’s bed capacity – have already joined the “Save Water” label, awarded since 2024 to those who implement a set of measures to save water.
These establishments reduced their annual water consumption by 12%, said André Gomes, pointing to an average saving per company of “around 7,000 euros per year,” equivalent to “two monthly bills.”
The water certification project “Save Water” will be replicated in other regions of the country, the official said, based on information provided by Turismo de Portugal.
