In recent years, the region has invested heavily in water supply systems. A major achievement: the construction of a water supply pipeline and a wastewater gravity pipeline.
The project: Supplying drinking water in the Algarve
The Algarve region of Portugal is internationally renowned for its outstanding natural beauty, fine beaches, a slow pace of life and all-year-around temperate climate. These factors make it a highly popular holiday destination and also provide advantageous conditions for agriculture. As one of Europe’s sunniest regions, optimising water usage is given a high priority, as is wastewater/effluent treatment. With many Blue Flag beaches (the European Standard for beach quality) along the 500km coast and many natural wildlife habitats, pollution is always a major concern.
Before the Algarve Multi-Municipal Water Supply System was established in 2000, every municipality in the east and west was responsible for its own water supply pumping and piping infrastructure. Both regions had to contend with qualitative and quantitative problems concerning the public water supply, which came from underground sources and dams. Until the construction of the Multi-Municipal System, these sources supplied most of the permanent residents and temporary population. In addition, agriculture also required considerable amounts of water for irrigation purposes.
The pressure exerted by the growing search for water was so strong that the availability of water decreased, and the quality of the water supplied dropped considerably in many aquifers as a result of over-exploitation, especially during consecutive dry years. Poor quality was, to a degree, attributable to saline intrusion which led to a sharp increase in chloride content in areas close to the sea together with widespread pollution as a result of intensive agricultural activities.
The Algarve water supply system operates four water treatment plants and 32 pumping stations along the network of treated water and raw water pipelines. The treated water pipeline runs at an average elevation of 100m above sea level along its 454km length, with the individual pumping stations extracting water at pressures and volumes as required. These are controlled remotely in the main water treatment plants at Tavira and Alcantrilha using telemetry.
The main aim is to supply enough quality drinking water all year round and to equip the region with a safe system in terms of public health, improving levels of assistance and promoting environmental quality, more specifically the quality of the water of the Algarve’s beaches and rivers, which is an essential factor for the well-being of the population and for developing the Region’s economy and tourism.