“We believe that transfers should not even be considered. Each region has its own particularities and problems in terms of water and there must be a policy to respond to these problems, particularly in terms of agriculture that is practiced”, said Gualdino Correia, from the association based in Caminha, district of Viana do Castelo.

For the person responsible, “there has to be a water management policy, otherwise, the problem is being transferred to the North” and “the problem in the South is possibly not being resolved”, in addition to “such processes always involves relocating species and this has its own impacts.”

Gualdino Correia was speaking about the regional consultation sessions on ‘Water that Unites’, the name given to the working group created by the Government in July to develop a new national strategy for water management.

The order published in the Official Gazette in July states that the plans must address, “as a last resort, the transfer of water between river basins”, in addition to “new sources of water, notably the reuse, desalination of sea and brackish water, optimization of the operation of existing reservoirs and aquifers, construction of new storage infrastructure or alteration of existing ones”.

“This [transvases] ends up meaning that water will not be managed as it should be in the South, leaving us dependent on water that can be sent from the North, which is not positive”, he observed.

Gualdino Correia warns that “in the Alentejo and the Algarve, crops lacking water are being implemented which increase the problem of scarcity, as is the case with red fruits”.

“These are inappropriate crops, in a situation where it is necessary to invest in more resilient crops that cost less in terms of water”, he maintained.

For the environmentalist, water management is essentially related to “waste”, resulting from losses in pipes in systems that, in some cases, “are decrepit”, notably in Alto Minho.

“We need to reduce losses, which are huge – over 20%. We are talking about a system that is already very damaged, not to say inoperative. It’s time for cameras to optimise these systems, replacing them,” he said.

On the other hand, “the problem with water is not just quantity, but also quality”.

“I'm talking about diffuse contamination, notably the use of agrochemicals in agriculture. The Government should intervene”, he maintained.

Furthermore, “the management of river basins should receive the attention of the authorities” and, at least in the case of the Minho River River Basin Council, a consultative body of the Portuguese Environment Agency, there have been no meetings “for several years”, he warned.

“We participated in the meetings, but I think the Council has been at a standstill for several years. This is a necessary management, although there was a need to change the way it works because the structure was made up of more than 60 entities”, he observed, defending a “lighter structure, for a faster response to situations”.