According to Maria da Graça Carvalho, when the Government took office in 2024, water projects in the Algarve had a 45% participation rate because they were not aggregated. Although the Operational Program (OP) provided a 60% participation rate, the 15% penalty reduced co-financing, making the implementation of these projects "very difficult."

With the protocol signed at the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR), within the scope of the "Water that Unites" strategy, the national counterpart for essential environmental investments in Algarve municipalities will be fully guaranteed by the Environmental Fund, through the Climate Agency.

"This is a definitive step needed to correct a situation that was penalizing municipalities in this region in their water projects," said the minister during the signing ceremony of a protocol between the Algarve 2030 Regional Program Management Authority and the Environmental Fund, through the Climate Agency.

According to the minister, with the changes made in the Council of Ministers to the Strategic Plan for Water Supply and Wastewater and Stormwater Management and the fund regulations, the existing penalty is eliminated, and with the contribution of the Environmental Fund, it will now be possible to contribute not just part of the 85% initially planned, "but the full 100% of the funding for water projects."

“No excuses”

Maria da Graça Carvalho also made an appeal: "At this point, there are no excuses. Mayors, directors of Águas do Algarve, you have full funding. Now it's just work. From this moment on, I believe all the conditions are in place to move forward with these important investments."

The minister emphasized that the immediate priority is water, due to water stress, adding that regarding other environmental projects, such as waste management, the situations will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, "because other regions of the country also have problems."

The minister added that the new Environmental Fund decree has already been signed and has received a positive review from the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities.

"Whatever is implemented this year will already be included. If it's more than planned, we'll issue a final decision at the end of the year to finalize the financing. Implement as much as possible, because we will have the capacity to co-finance," she urged.

Maria da Graça Carvalho also assessed the region's water situation, noting that the Algarve experienced 12 consecutive years of drought until 2024: "Thanks to last year's rain, but also to the efforts of the Algarve residents and everyone who lives in and visits the Algarve, we were able to achieve significant savings," she said.

Currently, the Algarve's six reservoirs are at 72% of their capacity, or 320 cubic hectometers of storage, which represents almost triple the values ​​recorded a year ago, when they averaged 30%, or 135 hectometers, he concluded.

Currently, 19 projects in the Algarve are in the application phase to strengthen the urban water cycle, with a global investment of over 59 million euros, which includes interventions in supply, sanitation, and wastewater reuse systems.