“As an example of what happens in the agricultural sector, where there is an allocation per area, we suggest considering the use of the same rationale for urban consumption, with the implementation of an allocation per inhabitant - as occurs in Egypt, for example”, says the entity in a letter sent to the working group.

Macário Correia, president of the Sotavento Algarvio Regantes Association and one of the founding members of the federation, created in August last year, considered, in statements to Lusa, that this is “a question of justice”.

“It makes no sense for restrictions to be for some and not for others, and it makes no sense to have allocations for agriculture and not for other sectors”, he explains.

While in agriculture there are allocations per crop and per unit of area, referenced in the titles for the use of underground water resources or in the titles for surface water, “in urban consumption there is no restriction of this kind”, adds the director.

“It is something that becomes necessary because there is unruly urban consumption, which is not careful about efficiency and savings”, highlighted Macário Correia, adding that some Algarve councils, “last summer, wasted water”, namely with the irrigation of “sidewalks, asphalt and roundabouts”.

The allocation would be defined “depending” on the population and hotel capacity existing in each municipality, explained the former mayor of Faro and Tavira.

“A city hall has so many inhabitants and so many hotel beds. There should be an allocation defined based on this consumption need. Just look at the average consumption of those [municipalities] that have more efficient management and table them there”, he explained.

In the letter sent to the “Water that Unites” working group, Fedagri recalls that the World Health Organization “argues that 110 litres/day are sufficient to meet a person's basic consumption and hygiene needs”.

In Portugal, “various sources of information point to an average value of 190 litres/day per person”, and, in the Algarve, according to the APA, “consumption by tourists is greater than 300 litres/day”, the document reads.

The federation maintains that Algarve agriculture “has been adapting” to the meteorological drought situation that the Algarve has been experiencing since 2012 and that it has made investments “that resulted in a 50% reduction in water consumption” compared to 2002 values.

Fines

Among the other demands presented to the working group, Fedagri points out “the existence of fines for municipalities that continue to present water losses above what is reasonable”, indicating that, according to APA data from the end of 2023, water losses in municipal networks “represented 30 hm3 [cubic hectometres] of water every year”.

The increase in water storage capacity, more correct management of the Algarve's aquifers, the increase in the volume of treated wastewater, and the strengthening of awareness among the population and the desalination plant are the other points addressed by the Algarve Farmers' Federation.

The “Water that Unites” initiative, which should be presented in January, aims to define the country's strategy for the efficient management, storage and distribution of water.