The rains of the last few days have caused the levels of the Alqueva reservoir to exceed the quota of 150 meters.
Since last day 3 February the level of water stored in Alqueva rose 4,49 meters and increased 898,44 million cubic meters. The latest data from the Alqueva Development and Infrastructure Company (EDIA) concerning 7 March, revealed that the water exceeded the quota 150,23 meters and already stores 3.750,84 million cubic meters of water.
As the Lidador News (LN) revealed, nineteen years after starting to receive water, a 8 February 2002, Alqueva was close to reaching the fifth full filling of its history, reaching storage of 4150 hectometres (hm3) of water, the quota 152 meters.
On 9 Feb. (na photos) and according to information from EDIA to LN, the largest artificial lake in Europe, with an area of 250 kilometers and 1160 kilometers margins, stored 3309 hm3 (1 hm3 equals 1 000 000 000 l) and was at the quota of 148,17 meters and 79,73% of its maximum capacity.
The last time the Alqueva dam was fully filled was at the beginning of 2014, but at the time, EDIA did not download to the “great river of the south”, choosing to divert part of the water to the hydroelectric plant, where energy is produced.
Alqueva first filled in 12 January 2010, a situation that repeated itself in March of that year. The water was released into the bed of the Guadiana river through secondary sluices. Early 2013, the dam filled for the third time and this time the surface floodgates were opened and the biggest discharges of water ever took place., that raised the limits of the Guadiana.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
