With the connection of the parish of Algoz/Tunes to the Waste Water System of Albufeira, Lagoa and Silves "there is no longer any need to release waste water into the streams", which is "fundamental" for the "environmental quality of the Algarve". The words are from Joaquim Peres, chairman of the Board of Directors of Águas do Algarve, at the inauguration of the new Algoz Pumping Station, last Friday.
The entry into operation of the new Pumping Station and the connection of the parish's sewage to the general system made it possible to deactivate the old WWTP in Algoz, which was no longer able to ensure a sufficient level of treatment, having given rise to «successful violations of its discharge regulations, with the serious environmental problems resulting therefrom'.
On the other hand, the town of Algoz is located in an area of Maximum Infiltration Area of underground aquifers, which must be preserved from pollution.
Hence, Rosa Palma, mayor of Silves, considered this investment as «very important for the municipality and for the Algarve». Joaquim Peres reinforced: «it is fundamental for the conservation of Nature, the quality of water and the entire economy that revolves around Tourism».
In all, 2 million euros were invested in the construction of three Gravity Stations, an Elevator Pipeline with 1,4 kilometers in length and a Gravity Pipeline with 3,3 kilometers in length. A value that joins the millions already invested over the years in solving the sewage problems in this part of the Algarve.
All of this now makes it possible to route sewage from the existing towns between Algoz and Montes Raposos (including Vale de Margem and São Lourenço do Palmeiral), taking it to the Pumping Station located in Montes Raposos and from there to the Waste Water System of Albufeira Poente, in order to treat them at the WWTP in Albufeira Poente.
Carlos Martins, Secretary of State for the Environment, deeply knowledgeable about the problems of the Algarve as he was the former chairman of the Board of Directors of the company Águas do Algarve (AdA), admitted that this is "a work with little visibility".
But he underlined that it is important because of the "added value it gives to the territories", allowing "the finalization of the subsystem managed by AdA". The company, stressed the official, will "no longer have first-level problems to solve".
During the visit to the new EE, under a blazing sun, João Sousa, Infrastructure Director at Águas do Algarve, explained that the Pumping Station is "a little different" from the others, as it includes a retention tank, which guarantees more efficient management of the entire system.
The mayor of Silves took advantage of the presence of the Secretary of State for the Environment to claim less constraints on the access of local authorities to PO SEUR funding, in the area of the Environment. “There are fundamental works in the area of sanitation that it is not possible to apply for”, lamented the mayor.
In response, Carlos Martins announced the Government's intention to "try to divert funds to allocate a little more to the water sector." In any case, the Secretary of State announced that the intention is to "help municipalities to have a more central role", and that "municipalities that can, on a supra-municipal scale, better solve casualty problems, making an optimized management will be privileged. of water and sanitation', even 'with reflexes in tariffs'. "Together, municipalities will be able to be more efficient".
The government official ended by recalling that important works in the area of sanitation are currently underway in the Algarve: the Companheira WWTP, in Portimão, and the WWTP of Faro/Olhão, whose work will start in August.
Photos:Elisabete Rodrigues|Sul Informação
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