According to data from the National Water Resources Information System (SNIRH), the Barlavento basin was at 19.1% of its capacity on the last day of last month (20.8% in June) and the Arade basin at 37.8% (40.8 in June).
Despite the decrease in water in these basins in the western Algarve, storage levels in July are higher than the July averages (reference period 1990/91 to 2022/23), except in the Lima, Mira, Ribeiras do Algarve, and Arade basins, according to the SNIRH.
The data also show that, at the end of July, compared to the previous month, there was a decrease in volume in all monitored river basins.
While the Barlavento and Arade basins were those with the least water, the Mondego, with 85.5%, and Guadiana, with 83.35%, were those that retained the most.
Each river basin may correspond to more than one reservoir.
The latest climatological bulletin from the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), for June, indicated that the meteorological drought situation had decreased that month, compared to the previous one, although a small area of severe drought had emerged in the Algarve's Sotavento region near the border with Spain.