Albufeira launches project to alert residents to sustainable water consumption

Due to the drought situation in the region, the Municipality of Albufeira adopted a set of 23 measures that aim to provide response to the current crisis situation, promoting the reduction of consumption and rationalization in the use of water resources in the region.

Therefore, on the next water bill, the municipality will send a statement to the population with a detailed explanation of the measures, so that everyone is aware of the seriousness of the situation and adopts appropriate behavior.

In addition, the Municipality will provide, free of charge, an audit and advisory service to the largest water consumers in the municipality, with the aim of raising awareness of the need to replace plants that require high water consumption, with indigenous, Mediterranean plant species and resilient to climate change.

«If there is no effective reduction in consumption, the supply of water to the population and companies will be seriously compromised», warns the mayor of Albufeira.

José Carlos Rolo also states that this is “an initiative that aims to encourage large water consumers, who have green grassy areas and other species with high water needs, to reduce water consumption, raising awareness of the need its replacement by other plants more adapted to the drought scenario experienced in the region».

«At the same time, the aim is to take advantage of the initiative to provide Albufeira’s gardens and green spaces with greater biodiversity, improving the pollination capacity and the landscape value of the municipality’s green areas», he highlights.

Although the water stored in the Algarve dams has risen significantly in the last week, thanks to the heavy rain that fell in the south of the country, particularly in the Funcho and Bravura reservoirs, it is still too early to breathe a sigh of relief, as warned Pedro Coelho, regional director for the Algarve of the Portuguese Environment Agency.

In all of the Algarve dams, the increase in the volume of water stored was more than 30 cubic hectometers (hm3).