The mayor of Aljezur appealed on Wednesday to solidarity between Portuguese regions to the Mira and the Algarve Well Zone to have access to water, through a connection between the Alqueva and Santa Clara dams.
José Gonçalves made this appeal in an audition at the Environment and Energy Commission of the Assembly of the Republic, where he was accompanied by the mayor of Ourique, Marcelo Guerreiro, and the president of the Portuguese Fresh Association, Gonçalo Santos Andrade, to present a manifesto in Defense of the connection between Alqueva, Santa Clara and then Odelouca, already in the Algarvio Well.
“This manifest water at the service of the future meets what will effectively be the national strategy ‘Água that unites’. ‘Water that unites’ has a very strong load that is solidarity. Solidarity between regions is fundamental. If we also want Solidarity on part of Spain, namely in water resources, it is unthinkable that there is not a policy of solidarity between regions, ”said the mayor of Aljezur.
The manifesto joined “nine municipalities, entrepreneurs from various areas” and seeks to find solutions to increase water supply in an area where agriculture and tourism have a strong weight, such as the Alentejo coast and the Algarve Well, he stressed.
“We know that the Well is where it rains less today, the dams in the Well are, in fact, far down and here it would be a fantastic opportunity that we can also reinforce the entire Algarve,” said the mayor of Aljezur.
The mayor of Ourique, Marcelo Guerreiro, also argued that the project in question represents, for the territory of the county and the region of Campo Branco, the “creation of new opportunities for the rural world and for agricultural production”.
“What has been studied and that is expected here, from the beginning of the Alqueva reinforcement base through the interconnection and allows the creation of new areas of irrigation in the area of Ourique,” said Marcelo Guerreiro, stressing that this solution would allow also leverage “development projects, namely the assisted cashier”.
The mayor noted that the territory of Ourique “has essentially agricultural production, which also contributes positively to the country’s trade balance” with the export of animals, “and is an area that has many drought problems”, like the Algarve, especially in the Well (West).
“(…) Agricultural productions and rainfed explorations need to find new solutions that can give a new life, and that with this set of investments could also have another opportunity here”, to the county, he argued, stressing that the increase in availability Hydric will also allow to ensure the feasibility of mining exploration in Neves-Corvo, which generates about 2,000 jobs.
Gonçalo Andrade, president of Portugal Fresh, which represents the sector of fruits, vegetables and flowers of this territorial area, asked to “ambition” to the country to ensure that the producers of the Mira perimeter, currently prevented from growing due to the water issue, can continue to evolve without “disapproving potential” that exists in the area. Portugal President Fresh stressed that in 2010, these producers exported 780 million euros and the value “tripled” in the last 14 years, reaching “2.5 billion euros in 2024”, while the Alqueva-Santa-Clara-Clara call Odelouca could be built “with an investment between 150 and 200 million euros”, a value he considered “reasonable” meeting the value that is generated by agricultural activities in this territory.
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