The Municipality of Sintra, through the Sintra Municipal Water and Sanitation Services (SMAS de Sintra), is investing 1 million euros in improving the efficiency of the water supply system, with the installation and remodeling of Pressure Reducing Valves (VRP) and the creation of Measurement and Control Zones (ZMC). This investment is part of the strategy to reduce non-revenue water, which, by the end of 2025, stood at around 18%, according to a press release.
According to the same source, to improve pressure management in the water supply network, SMAS de Sintra are already on the ground with a project to install seven VRP and remodel eight VRP, for an investment of 720 thousand euros. The construction of the new VRP will take place in Aldeia de São Marcos, Cabeço da Fonte, Vila Verde, Belas, Anta, Colaride and Quinta do Mirante, while the existing ones in Magoito I and II, Rodízio (Colares), Galamares, Quinta da Samaritana, Olival Santíssimo and Belas Clube de Campo I and II will be remodelled.
VRP allow regulation of the water pressure in the area of influence, reducing the occurrence of ruptures due to material fatigue and minimising the amount of water wasted, while also contributing to a reduction in consumption by consumers. The need to install these valves, complemented by the segmentation of the water distribution network, results from the marked topography of the municipality, which causes pressure variations, leading to premature wear of materials.
The project to install these valves, which will be complemented by the deployment of flow meters, will run until the end of 2027.
Recently, SMAS de Sintra completed a project to create eight more ZMC, a mechanism that is also essential for monitoring the water supply network, with a view to actively locating leaks. In this case, SMAS de Sintra’s investment amounted to 300 thousand euros, with the expansion of the ZMC network carried out in Asfamil, Ral/Terrugem, Pedras da Granja (supported), Cotão/São Marcos, Casal do Cotão, Serra da Silveira and Ral. The works also included the remodeling of the flow meter equipment in Beloura (located on Alameda da Fonte Velha), which was inoperative.
With a water supply network based on nearly 1,900 km of conveyance and distribution mains, SMAS de Sintra already counts with more than 60 ZMC, which monitor, for the most part, the system. In addition to controlling the water supply network, facilitating the adoption of measures to minimise water losses, the ZMC also allow limiting the zones of water supply interruptions in case of a rupture, by subdividing the influence areas of the reservoirs.
In the framework of the strategy to reduce non-revenue water, besides the creation of ZMC and the installation and remodeling of VRP, SMAS de Sintra continues to invest in the rehabilitation of conduits and service lines, in order to guarantee network renewal rates within sustainability parameters, as is the case of the project nearing completion in the Rio de Mouro Velho central area and the ones underway in Bairro da Coopalme (Algueirão-Mem Martins) and on Avenida António Enes and surrounding areas (Queluz). The initiative also includes the remodeling and waterproofing of reservoirs, such as the rehabilitation works of the Gémeos Reservoir, in Monte Abraão.
