According to a statement from AMAL, which encompasses the 16 municipalities in the district of Faro, the applications are part of Measure SM1 of the Algarve Water Efficiency Plan, within the scope of the Recovery and Resilience Program (PRR).

The objective is to reduce water losses in the urban sector, in a region that faces water scarcity problems due to the low rainfall in recent years.

The processes that “received the green light” for the renewal of sections of pipelines with high levels of water loss were presented by the municipalities of Albufeira, Castro Marim, Faro, Lagoa, Lagos, Loulé, Monchique, São Brás Alportel and Silves.

According to AMAL, three notices have already been issued and 53 applications have been approved, corresponding to 42.1 million euros and 157 contracts and acquisition of services, through Measure SM1, which includes the requalification of water supply networks, installation of measurement and control zones and the creation of controlled pressure zones.

“In the vast majority of cases, the works are ongoing”, says the note.

AMAL predicts that 125 kilometres of the region's water supply network will be rehabilitated by 2026, representing a reduction of two cubic hectometres in the demand for water in natural systems (aquifers).