Construction Of Maceiras Dam Will Benefit 400 Farms In Vila Real, Valpaços Municipality

The municipality of Valpaços has planned for the construction of a new dam in the city of Vila Real. This project will benefit 400 farms within the city that will consume water from this dam. Maceiras Dam Vila Real project will mark the beginning of a new era in Valpaços municipality.

New Dam In Vila Real

Valpaços council in the Vila Real region has announced the construction of a new dam in the region. This dam will be constructed for an amount of 21 million Euros. It has been decided to build the Maceiras dam which will benefit 400 agricultural farms in the area. This dam will also serve as a platform for aircraft refueling in case of any fire.

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Mayor of Valpaços, António Medeiros states that the municipality had requested a hydro-agricultural project that would benefit the municipality. There is no source of large-capacity water available in the region. The basic aim of this dam is to support more than 400 farms in the area. This dam construction will also serve as support for firefighting efforts in Portugal. Recently, Portugal had a crisis in forest fire which engulfed several regions of the country. This dam will serve as a means to provide water for aircraft as the firefighting planes can take water from this dam due to the huge surface area. António Medeiros stated:

It is very important for Valpaços, given the current lack of water, not only in Valpaços, but throughout the country, and crops need water to grow. This is one of the largest and most important investments.

National Irrigation Program Funding

The funding for the construction of the newly announced dam project will be done by the National Irrigation Program. This project will mark the biggest dam in the municipality that will cost more than 21 million Euros. This project was under progress for many years and the municipality wanted to come up with a solution to agricultural problems. The municipality has been searching for an idea for agriculture since 2018. They want to focus more on crops such as chestnuts, vineyards, and olives.

Some areas that will profit from the construction of the dam are Água Revés, Carrazedo de Montenegro, Santa Maria de Émeres, Curros, Canavese, and Veiga de Lila. These are the major areas out of the 1,125 hectares that will benefit from the development of the new dam. The Government and the municipality expect the new construction to support more than 400 farms. According to the authorities, the dam will have a maximum capacity of 2.8 million cubic meters. A statement from the local authority was issued which read as follows:

The maximum storage capacity will be 2.8 million cubic meters, allowing for pressurized irrigation throughout the perimeter, without the need for pumping, an advantage over most irrigation perimeters in the country, since there will be no pumping costs, a factor that is very detrimental to most irrigation systems, taking into account the price of energy and maintenance costs.

Dam Built On Frades Stream

The location for the construction of the dam is selected to be built on the Frades stream. This is situated in the parish of Tazém and Padrela. The overall project includes a dam, an irrigation network for agricultural use, and a filtration station. Total area of Maceiras Dam is calculated to be 12.9 square kilometers which will have a zoned embarkment of 42 meters above the foundation.

Maceiras Dam will be well constructed, and it will mark the beginning of the hydro-agricultural scheme. The difference between the dam and the ground where the waterfalls make it possible to extract energy from it. The site can also be used for tourism as the waterfall will attract a lot of people. The municipality stated:

[This project was] also designed with the depopulation and desertification of the interior of the country in mind, which, combined with climate change, has resulted in the constant extensification of agricultural systems, which is why the implementation and dynamization of irrigation is seen as a solution to reverse the cycle and promote and project the municipality’s primary sector.

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