A month of February (almost) without rain did not alleviate the drought situation in the south of the country, which is already extreme in almost all of the Algarve and in about a third of the territory of the districts of Faro and Beja. The lack of rain has reduced water availability, especially in the Guadiana Basin, largely due to the dams in the Eastern Algarve.
Analyzing data from the National Water Resources Information System (SNIRH), there is no doubt that the situation in Southern Portugal, mainly in the Central Algarve and Sotavento, as well as in the Southeast of Alentejo, namely in the municipality of Mértola, but also in Almodôvar , remains critical.
And, if the Algarve and Baixo Alentejo were already experiencing moderate to severe drought in January, the fact that no rain had fallen in February meant that the drought was considerably aggravated in February, as reported today by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA), in its February Climatological Summary (see maps below).
The lack of rainfall has also meant that, in the reservoirs of the various dams in the Algarve, the volume of water has decreased to values below those recorded in December. The exception was the Odelouca dam, who saw the water level rise, compared to the previous two months, in which precipitation values were much higher.
In the Algarve, according to the February precipitation bulletin of the National Water Resources Information System, the meteorological station at Albufeira da Bravura, in Lagos, recorded 4,5 millimeters of rain throughout the past month, when the average is of 89 mm.
At the São Brás de Alportel station, the discrepancy is even greater. In February, 2,8 mm of rainfall was recorded, while on average it rains 114 mm. In the Northeast of Algarve, more precisely in Martim Longo, the local weather station learned that only 0,5 millimeters of rain fell, when the average is fixed at 58.
In Baixo Alentejo, the situation was not very different. The stations of Relíquias (2,9 mm in February/90 average), Castro Verde (3,3/66) and Serpa (2,5/56) also registered little rain.
With no rain, the level of the reservoirs of practically all the main dams in the different hydrographic basins of southern Portugal decreased.
In the Eastern Algarve, the Odeleite and Beliche dams, which were previously in a preoccupying situation, saw their total load drop by around one percentage point.
In the first case, the Odeleite reservoir was, at the end of February, with 39,2 percent of its total capacity, when it had finished January with 40,2% and December with 39,4%.
In other words, part of the water that accumulated in previous months has already been lost, namely in December, when the rise in the level of stored water, compared to November, was significant, thanks to a lot of rain that fell in the last month of 2019 .
At the Beliche Dam, the situation was identical. In this case, the total load stood at 32,4% in February, when it was 33,3% and 32,6% in January and December, respectively.
Compared to the situation a year ago, the difference in this case is very large. In February 2019, the Odeleite dam was at 69,4% of its maximum capacity and the Beliche dam at 61,4%.
These two dams belong to the Guadiana Hydrographic Basin, which extends from the Alto Alentejo, along the river that gives it its name. Here, the Alqueva (68,3%) and Enxoé (50,5%) dams stand out.
In the Arade Hydrographic Basin, the three main dams have different situations. While the one in Odelouca, used exclusively for human supply, registered a rise in level, the same did not happen with the ones in Arade and Funcho, mainly destined for irrigation.
At the end of last month, the Odelouca Dam had a volume of stored water of 52,9 percent, up from 52,2% and 46,4% in January and December. Even comparing to February 2019, there was an increase in relation to the then 47,4% load.
At the end of February, the Arade reservoir had stored 50,9% of the water it can hold, while in January it had 51,1% and in December 51,3%. The Funcho dam was at 78,9%, below the 80,1% and 79% of the previous months.
In Alentejo, in the Mira Hydrographic Basin, the Santa Clara dam had a volume of stored water of 49,4% at the end of last month, not far from the 49,7% and 49,5% of January and December.
At the Corte Brique dam, load stood at 44,4% at the end of February, up from 43,6% in January and 42% in December.
These numbers are more worrying if one takes into account that the Algarve's aquifers (groundwater sheets) are also very depleted, as revealed by Paulo Cruz, from the Portuguese Environment Agency/Hydrographic Region of the Algarve (APA/ARH) , at the Orange XXI Conference, which took place during the Silves Capital da Orange Show.
According to this specialist, the largest water reservoirs in the Algarve, "those made by nature, the underground aquifers", are at the moment "below the 20th percentile. This is a very unfavorable situation".
Even in December and January, when there was some rainfall, this was not enough to change this situation, due to the difficulties of infiltrating water into the soil, in order to recharge the aquifers.
"Intensive dumping in an infiltration zone, namely in the Algarve mountains, can jeopardize the restoration of aquifers," warned Paulo Cruz.
As for the dams, “in total, we have water for about one calendar year. The problem is that the distribution is not homogeneous. The Barlavento Algarvio is rainier and the Sotavento is drier. At the Odeleite and Belhiche Dams, in Castro Marim, the water that is still there is not enough for a year», he said.
“We have to prepare for a new reality. More needs to be done with it and, eventually, a little more water. But the focus will always have to be efficiency», concluded Paulo Cruz.
Note: Updated at 17:35 pm with data from IPMA's February Climatological Summary
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