Water restrictions in the Algarve will be reviewed at the end of August to take into account the situation of the region’s water bodies at that time, the environment minister said on Wednesday.
“At the end of August there will be another assessment and therefore there could be more restrictions or there could be relief, depending on the water situation in the Algarve reservoirs,” said Maria da Graça Carvalho, who was heard this Wednesday by the parliamentary committee on environment and energy.
In her answers to MPs, the minister said that these restrictions on consumption in the Algarve are assessed every two months and acknowledged that, since it is summer, they cannot be expected to be relaxed at the end of August.
“We’ll see. We can relax them, which is not expected because it’s summer, or we can make them more restrictive if necessary,” the environment and energy minister said.
The easing of water consumption restrictions in the Algarve was approved in June by the Council of Ministers and represents a proportional adjustment and is subject to ongoing assessment.
The government of António Costa declared a state of emergency in the Algarve region on February 5 due to drought, but in late May, current Prime Minister Luis Montenegro announced an easing of restrictions on agriculture and the urban sector, including tourism.
At today’s regulatory hearing, the Environment and Energy Secretary also assured the government would continue to support mining and announced a national strategy for the critical raw material that is “so important to the energy transition”.
According to him, this strategy, developed jointly with the Ministry of Economy, will define the principles that will be applied in this area, such as the best technologies in exploration projects, benefits for the local population and the country as a whole, as well as the criteria of the national benchmark system.
The decision on licensing the activity, for or against, must be taken sooner, Maria da Graça Carvalho also said, adding that this will also be one of the points that will be included in the national strategy for vital raw materials.