for days, in an opinion article on the theme of drought, José Macário Correia defended, as a farmer, the need to move towards the construction of another infrastructure for surface water storage, specifically a dam in Ribeira da Foupana.
12 years ago, José Macário Correia defended, as President of the then Association of Municipalities of the Algarve, the need to seek optimization in the efficiency of water use, to the detriment of new infrastructure for surface water storage, specifically dams .
He did so in the context of working days promoted by the Algarve's regional nucleus of the League for the Protection of Nature at the University of Algarve, around a document that, ran in January 2007, was then in preparation, and which promised to be the decisive tool for solving the national drama that was, at the time, the mismanagement of water: the National Plan for the Efficient Use of Water (UNEP, officially created in 2005, and at that time still without any operationalization).
He defended, at the time, that the losses in the network (at the time they amounted to about 40%) were the equivalent of two dams in the Algarve, which was a serious problem from an environmental and also an economic point of view - which I remember with clarity, as I was the rapporteur of these journeys.
Considering that part of the conclusions and proposed measures of these workdays, after almost 13 years, are still sadly current and unfulfilled, I cannot achieve this, just by reading this article, and without hearing further and better developments by the author, what are the reasons that led José Macário Correia to change his opinion – which I respect, although I respectfully disagree.
Mainly because in terms of losses, despite the work and investment that has been witnessed, let us remember the Annual Report on Water and Waste Services in Portugal for 2018, published by the Regulatory Authority for Water and Waste Services, and the grave portrait Algarve made there, in 3 particularly relevant categories: real water losses (regional average of 183 l/branch/day) and percentage of uninvoiced water (30% regional average) and… pipeline rehabilitation (unsatisfactory).
For now, there is the idea that this perspective of yours takes a back seat to the change in mentality towards water resources and the optimization of their use, preferring to store more so that more can continue to waste.
A perspective that comes close to the start of what is presented as “the biggest debate ever in the Algarve on the issue of water”, in an initiative promoted by the AlgFuturo association.
The biggest one I don't know, but the first one is not for sure. Hence, to differentiate itself positively – which we hope will happen – it will have to have sequence and consequence, which, for those who have been watching these things for longer and with greater attention, it is easy to disbelieve. Furthermore, it will have to be a debate much more politicized than partisan – here too, it is easier to hope than to believe.
And, above all, it will have to be a debate that looks not only to the present, but fundamentally to the future. And then, in addition to the climatological normals (data series over 30 years), we will also have to consider the prospective scenarios of future climate evolution.
For now, in terms of the phenomenon of water scarcity, there is a general trend of worsening of the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI, considered for Mainland Portugal, from 1961 to 2000 – data series to the taste of the most skeptical, as it discards “anomalies”, such as 7 of the 10 hottest summers since the 1930s, recorded after the turn of the century), index which allows for an integrated monitoring of drought states, combining the effects of temperature, precipitation and available water capacity in the soil – safeguarding possible deviations induced by the isolated consideration of meteorological variables and encompassing ecological functions.
I remember that in the last parameter, and still not knowing the December balance, we were recently on the verge of ecological failure of the soil in its vital functions, as the plants were not able to capture enough water to compensate for losses due to constant dehydration.
This is also why, when talking about dams, it is important to think not only of human consumption, but of the integrated environmental impact they will have on downstream ecosystems, by suppressing flows that, more than ecological, are essential...
In the rationality of uses, nothing new in the various consumption sectors, reigning lightness, unfounded optimism and a lack of time in the face of caution recommended by the regional reality. Changing such a scenario implies changing attitudes, behaviors, lifestyles, in all “us” and not just “them”. And there, few are available to embody the speech.
Except maybe in agriculture, where change continues… with the progression of irrigation, and with support from the competent authorities in the matter. Understanding the importance of the primary sector for the diversification of the economy, the role of commitment that the entities are responsible for and the necessary balance between precaution and immobility, there is a doubt as to the consideration of the water issue in decision-making processes.
Especially when examples of good practices in the cultivation of avocado are “promoted”, whose annual water consumption for 85 ha, even so and for comparison, is equivalent to about 14 months of the monthly average productivity of the Querença-Silves aquifer!
Given all this, and considering the history of miraculous solutions promised (remember Odelouca, with the two reversible pumping stations that would allow the passage of water between the Barlavento and Sotavento systems), do we insist?
If I don't think so, the truth is that, at this moment, no one can say. Because we lack data. I have said this before, now repeating: we do not have an integrated study of the carrying capacity of the Algarve, in terms of water resources, or at least the feasibility of the current load. A common basis for discussion, measurable and updatable, that will inform dialogue and, more importantly, decision and action around water resources.
For this, the deep and committed involvement of strong, reputable and scientifically authoritative moderators, such as the University of the Algarve (autonomous or in conjunction with other knowledge centers), seems essential and urgent.
In this or other debates, but above all, in systematic mechanisms of information and decision support, so that, finally, skeptics and optimists can be silenced by realists, who determine with as much rigor as possible whether the glass is empty, half-full, half-empty or if after all it has avonde.
Author Gonçalo Gomes is a landscape architect, president of the Algarve Regional Section of the Portuguese Association of Landscape Architects (APAP).
(and writes according to the old Spelling Agreement)
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