The irrigators of the Sotavento Algarvio suggest, in a statement, that the irrigation of three of the golf courses in Tavira be carried out with treated wastewater from the WWTP in this municipality.
Emphasizing that "it is urgent to take structuring decisions with a vision of the future", the Association of Beneficiaries of the Sotavento Irrigation Plan explains that it has just proposed "this solution to the company Águas do Algarve and the Portuguese Environment Agency, entities with the power to decision for this concrete solution".
In their communiqué, signed by José Macário Correia as president of the irrigation association, they add that «for this purpose, there are funds in the so-called PRR that is lacking in the execution of investments».
The organizers add that they expect the «support of the Municipality of Tavira in the active involvement in the technical and operational aspects so that this improvement takes place in the best possible terms».
The association explains that the Tavira WWTP is located «on the left bank of Ribeira do Almargem», «hundreds of meters from a golf course (Benamor)» and «about 3 kilometers from two more (Quinta da Ria and Quinta de Cima).
«These are, among the golf courses in the Algarve, the closest to a large Waste Water Treatment Plant and with easy-to-install pipe crossings on the EN 125 viaducts and the railway», defend the irrigators .
«It makes no sense to send treated water from the WWTP to the sea when it can be used to irrigate these golf courses. With this simple investment, hundreds of thousands of cubic meters [of water] are saved, which we sorely need to produce fruit and vegetables and even to drink», says the association.
In the statement signed by Macário Correia, it is also noted that the Algarve is going through “a period of drought with repercussions on the lives of all of us”.
«Albufeiras in the Algarve have less water than last year and consumption this year is around 20% higher than in the same period».
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