The large plant in the Portimão suburb of Companheira (adjacent to the EN125 road) was inaugurated at 4pm by the Minister, and was also attended by the State Secretary for the Environment, Carlos Martins.
The new ETAR treatment station will process “an average flow of around 32,000 cubic metres per day, ensuring, to the highest standards of quality and reliability and in a framework of economic, social and environmental sustainability, water supply for human consumption and waste water treatment”, the Ministry explained in a statement.
According to the Environment Ministry, the new facility is part of the Companheira subsystem and “will allow the water quality of the Boina River and, consequently, the Arade river estuary, to be improved.”
Shortly before inaugurating the ETAR plant, the Minister visited Portimão Town Hall Hall, where he presided over the signing of a contract to replenish the Alvor dune belt, estimated at two million euros.
“The intervention in the Alvor estuary aims to reinforce the dune belt – ensuring a natural defence against erosive events - and also allows extending the sand along a one-kilometre-long stretch of seafront”, the Environment Ministry explained.
The objective is to restore the dunes to the levels of 1960.
The recent string of storms that barrelled through Portugal have caused an estimated €1.4 million worth of damage along the Portuguese coast.
According to the Environment Minister, €800,000 worth of that was in the Algarve alone. The Environment Ministry has undertaken 25 protocols to restore the country’s coastline after the stormy weather.