Water starts running out: “Almada residents in despair”

With sensationalist images flooding social media showing traffic lights ostensibly melting in the heat, Almada (Lisbon outskirts) appears to be the first major metropolitan area to suffer from current high temperatures. Taps have started ‘running dry’ – or rather, not running at all.

According to SIC, SMAS – the municipal water and sanitation services company – blames the weather, and consumers’ excessive use of water.

This sounds ‘plausible’, only one has to wonder – whether most people in the borough might be out working, not excessively using water at home.

Another niggle is the fact that water has apparently been ‘off’ for the last two days.

But SMAS is sticking to its story, saying the “rise in temperatures has caused increased water usage, which has overtaken the capacity for water capture from boreholes that supply Almada”.

SMAS “guarantees”, however, that it has brought another borehole into play, that should help rectify the situation – quite when is left hanging.

Says SIC, residents complain of a lack of response by the municipal council, and say there are short periods when the water returns, but it is not sufficient to have a shower…”

Further questions to the municipality have met with the response that SMAS is “accompanying the monitorisation of the network”.

Minister for environment and energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, only yesterday urged people to ‘exercise restraint’ and limit their consumption of both water and electricity, which, this far, does not appear to be failing communities on any large scale.

Source: SIC Notícias

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.