Odemira, Portugal, Nov. 5, 2024 (Lusa) - The mayors of Odemira and Aljezur said on Tuesday that the Alqueva reservoir's interconnection with the Santa Clara and Odelouca dams "is essential" for the future of south-west Alentejo and the Algarve.
"There is no doubt that [the Alqueva-Santa Clara-Odelouca interconnection] is essential for the future of this territory," Hélder Guerreiro, mayor of Odemira, in the district of Beja, told Lusa today at the end of the “Water at the Service of the Future” meeting.
On the sidelines of the initiative, held in a hotel next to the Santa Clara reservoir, the mayor emphasised that "the level of inflows", in that reservoir or other small dams in the Algarve, "is insufficient for the consumption needs" of the population, tourism, agriculture and industry.
"Therefore, we felt it was important to look for an alternative or complementary water source, and we think that one of the solutions could be this interconnection" with Alqueva, he said.
At today's meeting, 34 public and private organisations signed a manifesto calling for increased water availability in south-west Alentejo and the Algarve.
The document, called "Water at the Service of the Future", will be delivered to the government as part of the "Water that Unites" strategy, an inter-ministerial initiative that the government plans to present by the end of 2024.
The Alentejo municipalities of Odemira and Ourique and the Algarve municipalities of Aljezur, Lagoa, Lagos, Monchique and Vila do Bispo, in the district of Faro, are some of the signatories, as is the Baixo Alentejo Intermunicipal Community (CIMBAL).
Other signatories are Lusomorango, an organisation of fruit and vegetable producers, the Association of Horticulturists, Fruit Growers and Flower Growers of the Counties of Odemira and Aljezur (AHSA), the National Federation of Irrigators, the Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Similar Services of Portugal, and agricultural companies.
The regional tourism organisations of Alentejo, Ribatejo, and the Algarve, as well as the mining company Somincor, concessionaire of the Neves-Corvo mine in the municipality of Castro Verde, have also signed the document.
The manifesto advocates, among other actions, strengthening Alqueva "as a major reservoir for water regularisation in the south of the country" and the Santa Clara Dam, in the municipality of Odemira, "as a “hub” for the distribution of water to the south-west of Alentejo and the western Algarve."
For example, the Alqueva-Santa Clara-Odelouca interconnection is requested, which "is already tunnelled to the Funcho-Arade system, but the interconnection to the Bravura [Dam] in the Algarve is missing".
The mayor of Odemira said this project "is essential for the future of this territory" and, if it doesn't materialise, could lead to a "significant" retraction of "all economic activity" in the region.
The mayor of Aljezur, José Gonçalves, also told Lusa that it was "essential" that the project be realised since "it is necessary to bring more water to the region".
"And in this manifesto, we are telling those who have the power to decide that we want this solution," he said, adding that "this is a time when it is important to decide and have a position."
According to the mayor, "Lisbon's “centralism” has to realise that those who manage the region have an opinion and want to see these investments realised".
CYMP/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
