Portugal will supply water to Spain every year for 2 million Euros in the latest deal. It has been decided between the two countries that Portugal will provide water from Alqueva. The official contract deal will be signed between the two countries in September.
Spain And Portugal Will Sign A Water Supply Deal
The environment minister revealed on Tuesday, 6th August that the final agreement will be signed in Madrid between the two countries on 26th September. Spain is in crisis condition where it is facing some drought issues within the country. Spain has water reserves that are at the lowest capacity. The water reserve is below 50% and it is near 25% in two worst-hit areas: Catalonia and Andalusia. Portugal has come to rescue for Spain, and it will supply water to save the water reserves within the country.
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Spain has deemed the price to be reasonable for the demand of water supply. Maria da Graça Carvalho, a former member of the European Parliament stated this deal:
Regarding Alqueva, it was simply a matter of monitoring what was being spent on the Spanish side, doing the math, and Spain, naturally, is willing to pay what it owes us for water from Alqueva.
She has further added that the negotiations were quite successful and both countries will be at peace with this agreement. This will resolve the water dispute that was faced in the past for the Guadiana River.
It was a negotiation that went very well and there was no need to give anything away. They are also interested in solving their problems and we are interested in solving ours.
Water Supply Deal Of Guandiana River
The deal aims to take the water from Guandiana river which is located in Pomarao. It will contribute around 16 cubic hectometers per year to the supply of Algarve. The water will reach the Odeleite dam which is located in Castro Marim. This water supply will be carried in pipes ranging about 40 Kilometers in length.
It is being ensured that the Algarve Water Efficiency plan should be implemented, and this deal is one of the measures being taken for the plan. The Recovery and Resilience Plan will finance the overall project which would cost 61.5 million Euros. Minister Maria had already assured the public that the water issues would be dealt with at the end of August.
Minister Maria also told the journalist that the meeting held in Madrid between the two countries will discuss other issues as well like the Tagus and Guadiana rivers. She further stated that the Spanish government was very cooperative, and they wanted to resolve the issue as well.
The environment minister also gave his verdict on the overall deal about the whole situation:
Right now, compared to last year, the situation is considerably better. Of course, it would be expected, because it rained a lot at the beginning of the year, but we managed to reach, at least, the beginning of August and we are better than in 2023, which was a difficult year.
Better Water Consumption After Supply
The Minister also explained that water consumption is also being reduced to save the water supply. He has indicated that the water usage in June was about 14% and from the period of January to June, the water amount was about 9%. These amounts have greatly reduced in the past years.
Two sectors have aided in saving water supply. One is Golf which reduced its water supply that was 50% in the past. It has been prohibited to water the water excess areas. Another sector is agriculture which reduced its usage by 40%. The new deal between the two countries will aid the Portuguese government in supplying enough water for all the major sectors of industry.
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