José Manuel Fernandes highlighted that the water management strategy being developed has this civil protection aspect.

“We have to ensure that, when there is excess water, instead of flooding, it can be removed or, for example, pumped to be stored and then distributed, protecting people's lives”, he argued.

Stating that “no one can be” against civil protection and people's safety, the minister also criticised the “fundamentalism” of those who preferred a deserted Alentejo to investment in Alqueva or those who preferred to see the dams destroyed and the consequent need for remove people and destroy homes.

In July, the government created a working group, called ‘Água que Une’, to develop a new national strategy for water management.

In the order published in the Official Gazette, it is read that one of the priorities is “the creation of new infrastructures and water sources, which include storage infrastructures, regularization and water capture, desalination units and, as a last resort, the interconnection between river basins”.

Outright rejecting the term “water highway”, José Manuel Fernandes said that what is in the pipeline is “a system that respects the environment, that protects people and that, simultaneously, manages to have water for the population and for the agriculture.

“It is water that must be distributed efficiently”, he highlighted.

The strategy, he said, involves a “heavy investment”, is “truly structuring for Portugal”, focusing on human consumption, agriculture, environmental protection and the defense of populations, and should be presented in January.

“We have lots of studies, if we wanted to postpone it we would ask for one more study, but there are more than enough studies to now make this schedule”, he concluded.