In a statement, PAS said that although it believes that the 100% funding announced by the government for efficient management of the Urban Water Cycle in the Algarve should be welcomed, its full application to reducing water losses would only guarantee that “only 5% of the network in the Algarve would benefit”.

This effort should be “complemented by other political measures”, such as the creation of minimum targets for the use of treated water and maximum targets for losses, or the attribution of benefits to municipalities that fight and reduce losses the most, PAS argued.

At issue is the signing last week of a protocol between the Environmental Fund and the Management Authority of the Algarve 2030 Operational Programme (OP), which provides for 100% funding of works to be carried out in the Algarve with a view to more efficient management of the urban water cycle.

The government, through the Minister for the Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, announced the “priority” of “promoting more efficient management - reducing losses and saline intrusion in distribution and drainage networks, increasing water reuse and monitoring water resources and water supply and sanitation systems”, argued PAS.

Despite agreeing with the proposed measures, PAS warned that there are “5,668 kilometres of low-level water supply pipelines” and, according to “the indicators mentioned in the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) for the Algarve”, there is “44 million euros of investment planned to reduce water losses by 125 kilometres (2% of the network)”.

The target to be achieved “could be significantly improved” by giving “absolute priority to this type of intervention, instead of insisting on building new equipment and infrastructure”, he proposed.

many others if we are to achieve consistent and effective results in this area,” she argued.

The Platform considered that “the main limitation to the implementation of projects to reduce losses and reuse water is the political will of the municipalities and not their funding” and therefore asked the government to “create mechanisms to achieve and maintain concrete results in these matters”.

Among the proposed mechanisms are the “establishment of clear indicators and targets to be achieved after the interventions to be carried out”, the definition of maximum percentages for water losses in the networks and minimum percentages for water reuse or the “implementation of an effective monitoring and inspection system that makes it possible to detect deficiencies” and the necessary funding to repair them, he said.

The establishment of an “incentive system” that “benefits” municipalities that “meet the targets” is another of PAS’s proposals.