According to the latest weekly bulletin from the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), which does not include Tuesday's rains, almost a quarter of the dams are already above 90 percent capacity, as reported by ECO.

The most recent APA information bulletin, with data up to Monday, indicates that the reservoirs are at 65% of capacity nationwide, with the volume of water stored increasing by 3.5% compared to the previous week. In some basins, there are dams already very close to their limit, even before the heavy rains at dawn and on Tuesday.

In 18 reservoirs, 23% of the total, capacity already exceeded 90%, mostly in the Douro basin. The Carrapatelo (97%), Régua (97%), Pocinho (98%), and Serra Serrada (102%) reserves had the highest levels. In the Vouga and Mondego basin, the Lagoa Comprida dam was already at 96%. The situation is repeated in the Tagus basin, with Bouçã at 97% and Capinha at 100%. Castelo de Bode, the largest reservoir that supplies Lisbon, was at 78%.

The filling percentage was above 90% in 12 reservoirs of Cávado/Riberias Costeiras, Ave, and Douro.

Of the 79 reservoirs, 68.4% have a capacity above 50%, but the situation is not homogeneous throughout the country. To the south, the level of dams is much lower, with 37.6% in Sado, 30.9% in Alentejo, or 9.7% in Barlavento, the most critical area.

Data from the APA bulletin also indicate that 34.2% of the reservoirs already had water levels above the average for the entire month on December 12th. A percentage that should rise with the heavy rain on Tuesday, which put all districts on orange alert, with the exception of Bragança.


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