Algarve municipalities propose the construction of two new dams in the region
Yesterday, the Algarve Intermunicipal Community (AMAL) announced the proposal to construct two new dams in the region, one on the Foupana river and another on the Alportel river.
With the Algarve region in a drought situation and with water reserves at lower levels than the average of the last decade, AMAL defended the need to build two new water storage areas on river courses in the Algarve, alongside the Association of Beneficiaries of the Sotavento do Algarve Irrigation Plan (ABPRSA).
“For the Algarve municipalities, it is indisputable that the Alportel and Foupana projects will have a significant impact on the region's water storage capacity, and they therefore hope that the two dams will in fact be built, similar to how the irrigation association wants, which was detailed to the mayors by Macário Correia, president of ABPRSA, at the last meeting on January 10th”, said AMAL in a statement.
The Algarve Intermunicipal Community, which represents the 16 municipalities in the Faro district, also highlighted the importance of building these dams for the urban sector, which includes supplying the population, in addition to the “gains for the agricultural sector” that would be produced by increasing the water reserves stored in two new reservoirs.
“In the case of Foupana, for example, it means a reinforcement of the east and west, which could help to lower domestic water tariffs”, argued AMAL.
The Algarve mayors also defended the importance of “making use of the water that flows from the Foupana river”, which they quantified at “around 50 cubic hectometres, according to ABPRSA’s calculations”.
This volume of water represents a “significant increase” in the region’s storage capacity and “would also be important to increase the irrigation perimeter of the sotavento, extending it from Campina de Moncarapacho in Olhão, to Almancil in Loulé”, AMAL maintained.
In this way, “the independence of agricultural activity from an aquifer with great pressure” would be guaranteed and contamination by saline intrusion, which is already occurring in “some points” of the region’s underground reserves, would be avoided.
The Algarve currently has six dams, four in the west region (Arade, Odelouca, Bravura and Funcho) and two in the east region (Odeleite and Beliche).
The Foupana dam rises in the Serra do Caldeirão and runs through the municipalities of Alcoutim and Castro Marim, until it flows into the mouth of the Odeleite river, a tributary of the Guadiana river.
The Alportel river rises in Barranco do Velho, in the municipality of Loulé, and flows into Tavira.
In October 2024, ABPRSA launched a competition for the creation of a multi-purpose dam on the Alportel river, which will allow the protection of the city of Tavira against floods and the hydro-agricultural use in the Algarve's Sotavento region.
The Algarve Sotavento Irrigation Association had already announced, in September 2023, the opening of a competition for the Foupana dam project.
In addition to new dams, there are also plans to build a seawater desalination plant in Albufeira, or capture water from the Guadiana River from Pomarão, projects that are financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
The PRR allocated 200 million euros to measures to combat drought under the Algarve Water Efficiency Plan, which also includes measures such as combating leaks in supply networks, or using treated water to irrigate golf courses.
Quarteira: home and car thief arrested
The GNR in Loulé arrested a 38 year old man on January 21st, suspected of thefts from homes, shops and a vehicle in Quarteira over the past four months.
During the police investigations, GNR officers managed to locate the suspect, who was driving a stolen vehicle at the time of being arrested on January 13th. The car was equipped with false license plates, which were also stolen.
During the operation, several items were recovered and seized, including: a light vehicle, two false license plates, three watches, a mobile phone and a lock pick. The recovered vehicle will be returned to the rightful owner.
The detainee is being held at GNR facilities and will be brought before the Faro Judicial Court today, Thursday, to apply the respective coercive measures.
14 floods reported in the Algarve overnight due to bad weather
Between midnight and 7am this morning, the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) recorded a total of 71 incidents throughout the country, due to heavy rain and wind.
Most of the incidents were floods, with the worst affected area in the country being the Algarve. Luckily there have been no casualties so far.
“We had 71 incidents in the country related to bad weather, 51 of which were floods. The most affected areas were the Algarve with 14, the Setúbal Peninsula with 13, Greater Lisbon with eight and the rest were spread across the rest of the country in smaller numbers,” ANEPC reports.
South of Lisbon in the Setubal region, “we recorded a case of extreme wind on N253 between Alcácer do Sal and Comporta, in an area where there are no houses. Trees and power lines fell here. Road traffic has now been restored and communications companies are currently assessing the damage to their infrastructure. We have no reports on people or houses being affected.”
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) has placed Aveiro, Viseu, Coimbra, Leiria, Castelo Branco, Santarém, Lisbon, Portalegre, Evora, Setúbal, Beja and Faro under yellow warning until midnight on Thursday.
Staff shortage at Messines school should be resolved from Tuesday
The problem of a lack of staff at a school in Messines, which led to a protest movement by parents, should be 'magically' resolved as of Tuesday, the vice-president of the municipality said yesterday.
“The matter has been resolved. The director of the school group will withdraw employees from other establishments, to compensate for those who are on leave” at the EB1 João de Deus school, in São Bartolomeu de Messines, Luísa Luís assured.
Firefighters, at the request of the GNR, were called to remove chains with padlocks placed by parents at the entrance to this school yesterday (Monday) morning in order to, according to guardians, try to resolve “very serious situations occurring due to a lack of staff”.
“We always try to manage things in consensus with all parties”, said Luísa Luís, after a meeting between the Silves Council, the director of the school group and parents’ representatives.
Parents say they are eagerly awaiting the normalisation of the problem promised at the meeting.
According to parents, the lack of staff at the EB1 João de Deus school in São Bartolomeu de Messines has been occurring since the beginning of the year, and was “getting worse”.
“In a school with 130 children between the ages of six and eight, there are currently only three employees, two of whom are on sick leave,” said a representative of the parents, who said that even the school’s teachers had asked them to step in.
According to the parents, due to the lack of staff, the children have “no one looking after them” and “do whatever they want” in the school’s playground.
Messines: parents place chains and padlocks around school gate due to lack of staff
This morning, at the request of the GNR, firefighters removed chains and padlocks from the entrance to the EB1 João de Deus school in São Bartolomeu de Messines, after parents placed them there to make a stand.
The parents/guardians will meet with the director of the school group this morning, to discuss the lack of employees in the establishment, a situation that, has been dragging on since the beginning of the year according to them.
The vice-president of Silves council, Luísa Luís, confirmed that a representative from Silves Council will also be present at this meeting.
The mayor of Silves said, however, that the management of employees “is not the responsibility of the municipality”, adding that “there are a number of casualties and this seems to have caused the current situation”.
According to parents, the lack of staff at the EB1 João de Deus school in São Bartolomeu de Messines has been occurring since the beginning of the year and “is becoming increasingly serious”.
“In a school with 130 children between the ages of six and eight, there are currently only three employees, two of whom are on sick leave,” they say.
According to the parents’ representative, “the group and the Silves Council are not able to provide solutions”, and even the teachers have asked them for help.
“There are very serious situations happening due to a lack of staff. Children have no one looking after them and they do whatever they want,” said one of the parents.
Lusa news agency tried to obtain clarification from the director of the Silves School Group, Tito Mendes, but this has not been possible so far.
Vila do Bispo: body of a young woman is recovered after she fell from a cliff
The body of the woman who fell from a cliff in Torre d'Aspa in Vila do Bispo on Saturday evening, was rescued on Sunday afternoon.
After several attempts by air with an Air Force helicopter, members of the firefighters' wide-angle team proceeded to rescue the victim.
The alert for 34 year old Ukrainian woman falling was given at around 7pm on Saturday “by the victim's partner”, saying she had fallen from a 120 metre cliff while walking in the area.
The rescue resources of the Navy, the Institute for Aid to Shipwrecked People and a helicopter from the Portuguese Air Force being activated immediately.
The body, with no signs of life, was detected around midnight on Saturday near the water line, in the area where the fall reportedly occurred. Early Sunday morning, the Air Force helicopter tried to rescue the victim, but was unable to do so “for safety reasons”.
During the afternoon, "rescue operations continued successfully, coordinated by the Port Captain and local commander and other members of the Lagos Maritime Police, as well as the wide-angle team of the Vila do Bispo Volunteer Firefighters and a FAP aircraft, supported by a Civil Protection drone", said the National Maritime Authority statement.
The health delegate declared the woman's death at the scene and, after contacting the Public Prosecutor's Office, the body was transported by firefighters to the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in Portimão.
The Maritime Police and INEM Psychology Offices were activated and are providing support to the victim's partner and family.
