The Minister of Environment and Energy yesterday defended the construction of the Fagilde and Girabolhos dams, arguing that it is justified either because Viseu suffers from water stress or because the region supplies a large portion of the country, she explained.
“The Girabolhos dam would take seven years to build. The Viseu region, this entire region, is in water stress. We are praying for rain, so we cannot risk waiting seven years and increasing the probability of events like those experienced in years past [in 2017] of supply,” argued Maria da Graça Carvalho.
“We are even studying a provisional solution, in case it is necessary, so that we never have to resort to water trucks as in the past. This area is extremely vulnerable to drought issues,” she underscored.
The minister spoke to journalists on the sidelines of the ceremony marking the 47th anniversary of the Polytechnic University of Viseu, held this afternoon, and in relation to university professors having advocated the construction of a single dam, or a new one at Fagilde or Girabolhos.
The Fagilde dam, on the Dão River, supplies the municipalities of Viseu, Mangualde, Sátão, Penalva do Castelo, and Nelas, and the project contemplates a new one about 100 meters downstream of the current.
The Girabolhos dam is designed for the Mondego River, covering the municipalities of Seia and Gouveia in the Guarda district, and Mangualde and Nelas in the Viseu district.
The minister also said that the Fagilde dam “is small” and that the government will “give greater speed so that it is ready in 2029,” that is, in three years, “which is different from having one in seven.”
“If I had the Girabolhos dam ready, I wouldn’t need Fagilde, but I don’t,” admitted Maria da Graça Carvalho.
The official also said that, “already for this year,” among the alternatives for water supply in the region, given the absence of rain, is the “reutilização de águas residuais, principalmente para a indústria” of the region. “Reutilization of wastewater, mainly for the region’s industry,” she added.
“For urban supply – the forecasts say that for now it’s not necessary – but we are studying, from an engineering standpoint, connections to other nearby dams. Provisional, because later we will have Fagilde, but so that there is urban supply near here, either from the Mondego or another system, it is to see what is most economical from an engineering perspective so that there is no water shortage here,” she added.
The official lamented that it had not been done sooner and reinforced that it will have “the double the capacity” of the current one and is a cheaper investment than Girabolhos and, therefore, “can be built first and is an absolute priority” and the objective “is to be completed still within this EU framework, by 2029.”
Questioned about the guarantee of supply by the Águas Douro e Paiva company, without the need for the new dam, the official said that “without the dam, conduits would have to be built that are as expensive or more expensive than the dam and consume a lot of energy” and that this “was studied from a technical point of view.”
The Girabolhos dam, she explained, is also “very important” for the whole region, “for energy production, for water and energy storage, to regulate the Mondego’s flow and it is fundamental to the development of the entire area.”
“We know that it is a region that contributes greatly to the country’s water supply. In the Zêzere and Tagus area, it provides water to all of Greater Lisbon and, now, will begin to supply water also to the southern bank,” she indicated, totaling more than three million people.
“And then all the Mondego’s supply. Almost two-thirds of Portugal drinks water thanks to the good quality of the ecosystems of this region and, therefore, there is a country’s debt to this region,” she stressed.
