Ending years of eye-watering stench that could almost be cut with a knife, the good citizens of Olhão now can rest assured that the air they breath will be fresh, the waters of the Ria Formosa markedly less polluted and that local sewage now is being processed in a thoroughly modern and efficient manner.
The Minister of the Environment and Energy Transition, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, has inaugurated the new Faro-Olhão Waste Water Treatment Plant and associated pumping station, which together have cost €22 million.
The state-of-the-art facility can treat the effluent produced by about 113,000 inhabitants and serves Faro, Olhão and São Brás de Alportel.
The President of Águas do Algarve, Joaquim Peres, announced further developments at the site, such as creating greenhouses to dry the sludge in the sunshine, as well as the installation of a photovoltaic park.
The sewage plant even has a space dedicated to environmental education, open to school children so they can learn more about water and water treatment.
António Pina, the mayor of Olhão, said the stench from the old, open pond system used by the old sewage treatment plant, had been a real problem for decades, especially in recent years as the city has grown into a tourist destination.
João Matos Fernandes pointed out that the new plant’s capacity, when added to the new facility in Companheira near Portimão, serves a significant part of the Algarve’s population and has cost around €44 million in total.
After years of official denials that the old plant dumped foul water into the Ria Formosa from its sewage-filled ponds, officials now claim that the days of dumping foul water into the Ria Formosa are over.
António Pina said the shellfish nurseries in the area had suffered from high pollution levels and that harvesting had been banned, this now should be a thing of the past.
The minister said that, "The water quality of the Ria Formosa will, very quickly, undergo a great improvement and the lagoon ecosystems will improve a lot."
The main and immediate benefit will be an end to the stench which has bemused and revolted tourists for years - many unable to comprehend that the smell of human waste in one of Europe’s top destinations, somehow was normal.
Meanwhile, the sewage continues to flow into the Ria Formosa next to the islands' ferry ticket office, a slow stream of effluent that seems only of interest to seagulls, certainly nobody in the Council is interested in solving this blatant illegality.
To watch men in suits walking around the new plant, click HERE
