The vice-president of the Portuguese Environment Agency has praised the agricultural and golf sectors in the Algarve for using around three times less water than required by the Government, this February compared to last February.
Comparing February 2023 to February 2024, 90,000 cubic metres less water was used by the agricultural and golf sectors in the Algarve.
“It is a 69% reduction, very significant for water reserves and a sign that everyone is making an effort to face the worst drought ever in the region”, said José Pimenta Machado.
The urban sector also reduced water consumption by 0.5% in February, still below the 15% contained in the contingency measures proposed by the Drought Commission and approved by the Government.
For agricultural irrigation, the commission defined a 25% reduction in consumption and 18% for the irrigation of golf courses.
For the head of APA, the reduction in consumption in these sectors demonstrates that “the measures are working, in an effort that is being made by all” sectors together.
“It is true that in January and February there is no watering, but even so, a great effort is made, with a very encouraging and very important percentage”, he highlighted.
For Pimenta Machado, consumption in February in all sectors – urban, tourism and agricultural – reflects “the great cooperation, teamwork and commitment to face this great challenge”, he added.
“It is true that some measures are in the implementation phase, but it is necessary to reorganize, plan, because there are others that have some technical complexity and that require a greater effort to be implemented”, he pointed out.
To take stock of the measures currently in force and define others to be applied, a general coordination meeting between the APA , the Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR) and the Algarve Intermunicipal Community (AMAL) is scheduled for mid-March.
The meeting also aims to define the governance model of the five specialized technical working groups (GT): GT1 - agriculture and golf; GT2-tourism; GT3-low water management; GT4-awareness campaigns and GT5-inspection.
In view of the extreme drought situation that the Algarve is facing and to raise awareness among the population of the importance of saving water, the Portuguese Environment Agency will soon launch the drought portal, an IT application.
“It is an application that aims to inform all citizens about water reserves in reservoirs and consumption in different sectors and alert more sustainable behaviours”, he said.
Through the application, citizens can monitor and follow the current evolution of consumption in the various municipalities, as well as reservoir and groundwater reserves.
“Basically, it helps us monitor consumption and understand whether or not we are achieving the objective of reducing water consumption”, he concluded.
The Algarve has been on alert due to drought since February 5th, and the Government has approved a set of measures to restrict consumption, namely a 15% reduction in the urban sector, including tourism, and a 25% reduction in agriculture.
In addition to these measures, there are others such as combating losses in supply networks, the use of treated water to irrigate green spaces, streets and golf courses or the suspension of the granting of titles for the use of water resources.
The Government has already admitted there will be an increase the level of restrictions, declaring a state of environmental emergency or calamity, if the measures now implemented are insufficient to address water scarcity in the region.
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