True extent of Almada’s water crisis revealed, as crisis likely to persist for weeks

Thousands of residents in Almada have endured dry taps, low water pressure and unexpected supply cuts, particularly over the last week – but the municipality’s water shortage runs far deeper than an isolated pipe failure, an investigation by Expresso reveals.

The newspaper reports that specialists believe the crisis reflects years of mounting pressure on an already fragile water supply system serving around one million people across the Setúbal Peninsula.

Municipal water company SMAS initially blamed the disruption on a burst water main combined with higher demand driven by hot weather and the seasonal influx of visitors.

Experts interviewed by Expresso suggest this is far too simplistic. They say the situation is the result of several overlapping problems: heavy reliance on groundwater extraction, ageing infrastructure, rising consumption, over-exploitation of the region’s aquifer and limited scientific knowledge about the condition of underground water reserves.

Hydrogeologist Rosário Carvalho – from the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Lisbon – says Almada and neighbouring Seixal lie in one of the least favourable parts of the Tejo-Sado Left Bank aquifer system, where thick clay layers restrict groundwater circulation and storage.

Available resources could continue to meet demand, says Carvalho, provided they are managed sustainably through continuous monitoring of groundwater levels, extraction volumes and water quality (something that up till now has not happened).

Rodrigo Proença de Oliveira, a researcher at Lisbon’s Instituto Superior Técnico, told the newspaper there remains “an enormous lack of knowledge” about groundwater availability across much of the aquifer. He is calling for a comprehensive study into the underground water body’s natural recharge capacity as it faces increasing pressure from urban development, agriculture, tourism and industry.

Infrastructure shortcomings

Almada’s water network has changed little despite rapid population growth, Rosário Carvalho tells Expresso. Between 2021 and 2025, the municipality’s population increased by around 10%, while water consumption rose by 5.3%. During the first half of 2026 alone, demand increased by a further 4.3% compared with the same period last year, with some areas recording rises above 15%.

As the hydrologist explains, deep aquifers recharge slowly – meaning rainfall in wetter years does not necessarily restore groundwater reserves quickly because much of the water currently being extracted infiltrated decades ago.

Land subsidence

Expresso’s investigation highlights another issue: gradual land subsidence caused by sediment compaction when groundwater extraction exceeds natural recharge.

Data from the European Copernicus European Ground Motion Service shows measurable ground sinking in several parts of Almada, Seixal and Sesimbra, with one area of Costa da Caparica subsiding by around 1.5 centimetres between 2020 and 2024. (Readers here might remember the landslides experienced in Almada during the winter rains…)

Geologist Pedro Proença Cunha, from the University of Coimbra, tells Expresso that the current water shortages are the result of “continuous over-extraction over the last decade of a geological resource that is not renewable on a human timescale“.

The geologist believes subsidence detected along Costa da Caparica, Seixal and north of Albufeira Lagoon could be linked ongoing groundwater pumping. Although current measurements do not yet pose a major threat to water reserves, he warns that sediment compaction could permanently reduce the aquifer’s storage capacity.

Fragmented management and ageing infrastructure

The various experts also criticised the fragmented management of water resources across the region, where municipalities continue to operate their own wells and infrastructure independently.

According to Rodrigo Proença de Oliveira, this reduces system resilience and limits the ability to respond when local supply failures occur. He argues that multi-municipal water systems would provide greater flexibility and redundancy.

Meanwhile, Almada has activated a crisis office and contingency plan after Mayor Inês de Medeiros acknowledged that water consumption currently exceeds the system’s pumping capacity, leaving reservoirs at “extremely low” levels. On Wednesday, storage stood at just 10% of capacity.

SMAS has now received authorisation from the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) to drill two additional boreholes, adding to the existing 32 wells—93% of which are located in neighbouring Seixal—with five more planned.

Environment Minister Graça Carvalho has said supplies should return to normal within two weeks, while blaming what she described as an “obvious” lack of investment in Almada’s water infrastructure and the network’s high leakage rates.

According to Portugal’s water regulator ERSAR, 33.4% of all water produced in Almada is lost through the distribution network (meaning through leaks), compared with 26.5% in Seixal. Figures published by ERSAR’s consultative council also show that, over the past decade, an average of just 0.42% of water pipelines have been renewed each year, (ie a great deal more could – and should – be done).

Almada City Council told Expresso that it has invested €23.9 million over the past five years, including €5.7 million in groundwater abstraction, infrastructure rehabilitation and improvements to the municipal water distribution network.

Source: Expresso