Regional water company Águas do Algarve today announced an investment of €2 million to link up Algoz and Tunes in the Silves council area to the more modern Wastewater Treatment System that deals with sewage from Albufeira, Lagoa and Silves.
With the completion of this work the waste treatment station in Algoz can be decommissioned. Just as well as even the water company admits the plant does not work well and that staff frequently discharge waste that has not been treated properly, resulting in environmental problems.
The company claims to have spent €577 million on water and waste systems in the Algarve which comes as no surprise as this presumably is a large part of its function.
The plant that it plans only to replace by 2017 is the over-loaded structure that sits between Faro and Olhao and from time to time has been discharging an untreated slurry mixed with chemical accelerants into the otherwise pristine waters of the protected Ria Formosa natural area.
The environmental damage caused to the Ria area could have prompted a swifter response by Águas do Algarve when it finally admitted its practices, but the company is happy to drag its heels, maybe until Faro and Olhao councils pay their water bill arrears.
Meanwhile Algoz and Tunes, both in the Silves area for which Águas do Algarve boss Isabel Soares used to mayor, will smell that much sweeter and residents can flush with impunity.
