The Government will invest more than 14 million euros in water supply and wastewater sanitation systems in the Algarve so that "what happened with the discharge of wastewater in the municipalities of Silves and Albufeira does not happen again". The announcement was made this Monday by the minister of Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy, Jorge Moreira da Silva, at the Coordination and Regional Development Commission of the Algarve (CCDRA), in Faro.
This investment refers to three major projects. First, the construction of two new Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP), one in the Companheira area, in Portimão, with an estimated investment of 10,8 million euros, and the other in Vila do Bispo/Sagres, with a cost of 2,2 million euros. The third intervention announced refers to the requalification of the habitats of Lagoa dos Salgados, in an investment of around 1,2 million euros.
The member of Government was in the region to preside over the signing ceremony of a protocol between the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), Águas do Algarve and Algar (responsible for the multi-municipal waste treatment system), to replace obsolete WWTPs.
“This visit was intended to respond to the concerns of the population who are looking for solutions to the problems that occurred during the past bathing season. Identify nature and give concrete answers. The intention is to introduce greater coordination between the entities», stated Jorge Moreira da Silva.
The minister also defended, according to a CCDRA press release, “greater coordination between farmers and the bodies of the Ministry of Environment and between these and the municipal councils”.
"These investments are only possible because Águas do Algarve has managed to recover 20 million euros in debt from the Algarve's municipalities through the Local Economy Support Plan (PAEL)," he added.
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