Faro, Portugal, Oct. 28, 2024 (Lusa) - The president of the Intermunicipal Community (CIM) of the Algarve said on Monday that the water commitments signed last week between Portugal and Spain "are an important step towards guaranteeing" the reinforcement of the region's water supply.
"We're very pleased that, as part of this cross-border agreement, the 30 hectometres for the Pomarão water intake have been validated, as envisaged in the Water Efficiency Plan," António Miguel Pina told Lusa.
The agreements for the water management of flows in the Guadiana and the Tagus rivers between the governments of Portugal and Spain were formalised during the 35th Luso-Spanish Summit, which took place last Wednesday in Faro.
Asked whether the minimum monthly water flow for the River Guadiana in the Pomarão section would be enough to reinforce and maintain part of the Algarve's water resources, António Miguel Pina claimed not to have the technical knowledge to make an assessment.
"This is an important measure that allows for a significant reinforcement of our water sources, as we had already foreseen in the Water Efficiency Plan for the Algarve under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR)," he emphasised.
According to the president of the association of municipalities in the district of Faro, which comprises the 16 municipalities of the Algarve, "it's another project that's almost ready to be realised".
"All that's left is to launch the construction work, as well as the desalination plant and, with these two, we have a significant reinforcement of our water sources," said the mayor of Olhão.
For the mayor, however, "we need to assess whether these new sources associated with the reduction of losses and reuse are sufficient in a very unknown scenario due to climate change".
"We have to finalise the PRR projects that are underway, but we also have to start thinking about how we can give everyone in the region greater strength and peace of mind, be it in urban and tourist areas, or in economic activities, namely golf and agriculture, an activity that has been very strong in recent years," he concluded.
The understanding between the two countries provides for a commitment to a daily water flow in the Tagus river and a monthly flow rate regime in the Guadiana river, in the Pomarão section, to guarantee the good state of the estuary and the equitable distribution of the flows available for use by both states.
The Joint Declaration of the 35th Luso-Spanish Summit states that the agreement "on the guiding principles for establishing a daily flow in the River Tagus from the [Spanish] Cedilho dam" aims to "maintain circulating flows".
The joint declaration also confirms the agreements already announced to regulate abstractions from the Alqueva reservoir by farmers from both countries, under which Spanish users will pay Portugal for the water withdrawn, with the same conditions imposed on the Portuguese side.
JPC/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
