The objective is to help combat water scarcity and help supply the Algarve region. But impacts are expected on both nature and, as in the villages crossed by the transfer channel.
A Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) authorized the transfer of water from the Guadiana River, in Mértola, for Odeleite dam, no Algarve. The idea will help supply the Algarve region, but it raises many doubts about the cost and effectiveness. It is also feared that it will harm the ecological balance of the river.
It will be with conduct close to 40 kilometers, from Pomarão, that the water will reach the Odeleite dam.
In the riverside village of the municipality of Mértola, the Portuguese left bank of the Guadiana ends and until Vila Real de Santo António is the riverbed that separates the two countries..
Water intake aims to mitigate chronic shortages in the Eastern Algarve. The project was given the green light by the Portuguese Environment Agency, but it has raised doubts. The first is at an ecological level, for fauna and flora. After, there is the visual and sound issue for the residents of Formoa, small place next to Pomarão, which will be in front of the capture system.
Municipality of Mértola demanded compensation
The APA opinion is subject to the requirements of the municipality of Mértola, what, in view of the imminent approval, demanded local compensation for participation in the solution.
The safeguards already guaranteed by the Ministry of the Environment include the implementation of the supply network in the towns of Espírito Santo and Mesquita, dependent on hertzian holes, which are not always available, often being supplied by tankers.
The navigability of the Guadiana to Mértola, an ancient design of the village, is another of the counterparts on the table.
The destination of the water collected in Pomarão is the Odeleite Dam, in Castro Marim. This is where the Sotavento Algarvio drinks. The hectometers from the Guadiana will help guarantee levels that are often at the limit. They are intended for human consumption and guarantee a large part of the Algarve’s economic activity, but the solution is seen as a simple drop of water for needs and at a price that is too high.
Madrid’s “yes” is missing
For the project to move forward, an agreement with Spain is needed. There is a meeting scheduled for this month, Madrid. All that remains is to know the requirements of the neighboring country to apply another blow to the river.
Beads made, the transfer from Pomarão to Odeleite costs around 60 million, fully financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR). A bandage, but that will not heal a wound that tends to enlarge, due to climate change and the advancement of physical desertification.
To definitively overcome the lack of water in the Algarve, several entities point to other types of solutions.
Environmental associations and some municipalities in the Algarve have also shown themselves against this solution of transferring water from Guadiana to Odeleite, due to the expected impacts on nature, either in places crossed by the transfer channel.
News: Lidador Notícias/ SIC Notícias
