A bulletin released by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), on water availability in the reservoirs on December 19, indicates that, compared to the previous week, there was an overall increase of 11.8% of water in the 79 monitored reservoirs.

Of these, the vast majority, 42, were between 81 and 100% of capacity, 15 were between 61 and 80%, and two were between 41 and 50%.

Less well in terms of water storage are 20 dams, eight of them with a capacity between 41 and 50%, nine reservoirs between 21 and 40%, and three reservoirs below 20%.

The three cases, although all register increases in storage, are the dams of Campilhas (8%) and Monte da Rocha (9%) in the Sado basin, and Bravura (11%), in the Western Algarve.

The data indicate, in summary, that more than half of the reservoirs (53%) have water availability greater than 80% of the total volume and 15% have less than 40%. And that, of the 15 river basins, seven were above average for December and eight below average (from 1990/91 to 2021/22).

According to APA data, the Douro basin was the one with the highest storage, with more than 90%, followed by the Ave, Tejo, and Vouga basins, all above the average for the month of December.


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