In a statement, the Federation of Farmers' Associations of Baixo Alentejo (Faabu) recalls that this situation occurs “when the entire southern region of the country is still struggling with significant water deficiencies (particularly the Algarve, Baixo Alentejo and Alentejo Coast) and with restrictions already announced for application in the near future, mainly for the Algarve region”.
FAABA recalls that this occurs following a commitment that EDIA has with the Portuguese State, read APA – Portuguese Environment Agency, are being released from the Alqueva complex (Pedrógão Reservoir) 45 million cubic meters of water with the aim of simulating a flood flow from the Guadiana River, and thus guarantee, “the natural fulfillment of this watercourse, an essential measure for cleaning and maintaining riverside ecosystems”.
The Federation highlights in the statement that “this volume of water added to that released last year, in a year of severe drought, corresponds to a completely full Roxo reservoir. Moreover, since the completion of the Alqueva dam and as a consequence of the ecological flows, that are necessary to maintain, that the Guadiana river bed has higher and more stabilized water flows throughout the year”.
At a time when farmers are struggling with water cuts to their farms, whenever they exceed the allocations pre-established by EDIA, in which barriers are imposed on the restructuring of crops and the distribution of water to precarious irrigators, as well as its integration, always with the perspective of reducing EFMA’s water consumption, how to classify this measure by APA and EDIA?
This situation occurs when the entire southern region of the country is still struggling with significant water deficiencies (particularly the Algarve, Baixo Alentejo and Alentejo Coast) and with restrictions already announced for application in the near future, mainly for the Algarve region.
FAABA leaves the question: “What will farmers and citizens in general in these regions think about this decision? The only possible thought, is that this is a huge waste of water and poor management of the water resources available in EFMA?".
The Federation states that the 45 million m3 of water released for flood simulation are an addition to the ecological flow that, in very dry years, can reach the 600 million m3 but, whether this river cleaning measure is justified from an environmental point of view, why not use part of this ecological flow to achieve this? And if this commitment to the Portuguese State is not adequate to the territorial reality and management of water resources in the region, so a quick and urgent review should be carried out.
