“Reducing these losses is essential to ensure both the environmental sustainability and the economic viability of these sectors”, argued the environmental association.

In the document, Zero urged the Government not to exceed what it called “red lines” in water management and criticized the overexploitation of water resources, pointing out the uncontrolled use in agriculture, where the most water is consumed, as well as in the tourism sector.

According to Zero, among the main challenges are the increasingly frequent prolonged droughts, which have led to situations of water scarcity in the south of the country, with “profound impacts” on agriculture, biodiversity and water supply.

“Portugal is facing a water crisis, aggravated by climate change and poor resource management,” the association stressed, considering that proposals such as transferring water between river basins and building new dams could “unbalance ecosystems and increase competition” for scarce water resources.

“The plan for a water highway to transfer resources to the Algarve raises serious questions about its ecological and economic viability,” it exemplified.

For Zero, it is also crucial to ensure that the costs of water services are distributed fairly among all sectors, in accordance with sustainability principles: “This includes applying the ‘polluter pays’ and ‘user pays’ concepts, as established by the Water Framework Directive.”

Environmentalists also advocated the reuse of wastewater for non-potable purposes as “a central strategy” to increase water use efficiency.

“Recharging aquifers with recycled water also represents an opportunity to optimize the water cycle, contributing to the sustainability of underground reserves,” according to the same source.