Speaking to Lusa, António Eusébio said that the last week of March “was generous, increasing by around 30 cubic hectometers [hm3]that is, 25% of the volume of water stored” in Algarve reservoirs, compared to the same period last year.
“We were at around 90 hm3 and, at the moment, we have more than 122 hm3 in all reservoirs. We are becoming more calm, but we must continue to treat the water with utmost caution”, warned the director of the company responsible for water supply to the 16 municipalities in the Algarve.
According to data from the National Water Resources Information System (SNIRH), in March there was an increase in the amount of water retained in all river basins in the Algarve, a region that was in a situation of mild meteorological drought at the end of February.
For the president of the company that manages the supply of water for human consumption in the Algarve, the rain restored some normalitybut this does not mean that one can “spend water freely”, because reserves are still not enough to be “rested”.
“We must maintain all precautionary measures in the management of water resources, reducing consumption so that we can guarantee our sustainability and quality of life for the future”, highlighted António Eusébio.
SNIRH data indicate that the amount of water stored in the Bravura Dam, in the windward (west) region of the Ribeiras do Algarve basin, rose to 20.8% on March 31, double that seen in February, but it is still the one that retains the least water in Portugal.
The data reveal that the Ribeiras do Algarve and Arade basins – Funcho (53.1%), Arade (17.5%) and Odelouca (41.4%) dams – maintain values below the averages of the 1990 reference period /91 to 2022/23.
On the last day of March, the Odeleite (47.2%) and Beliche (39%) reservoirs, both in the eastern (leeward) Algarve, had water storage of less than 50% of their capacity, of the total nine reservoirs integrated in the Guadiana basin.
For the president of the company Águas do Algarve, “despite this increase caused by recent rain, the water levels in the Algarve dams are still below average for this season, but they allow us to face the future with greater optimism, compared to the worrying situation that occurred at the beginning of the year”, he concluded.
