Lagoa, Faro, Portugal, Sept. 23, 2024 (Lusa) - The water company in Portugal's Algarve region, Águas do Algarve, is investing €1 million in the treatment and reuse of wastewater from the Boavista treatment plant, in the district of Lagoa, for golf course irrigation, the company announced on Monday.
The contract, budgeted at €1,014,000, as part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), aims to "equip the Boavista WWTP [Wastewater Treatment Plant] with infrastructures for the treatment, elevation and discharge of water for reuse (ApR)", the company said in a statement.
The work involves the construction of an additional treatment phase, "to disinfect the wastewater", and the construction of a pumping station for treated wastewater, which will allow the ApR to be fed to the point of delivery, the statement reads.
This project, which is expected to be completed in 2024, will make it possible to "replace the annual use of around 0.5 million cubic metres of surface or underground water with reusable treated water", specified the company, which is responsible for supplying high-level water to the Algarve's 16 municipalities.
Currently, the Boavista WWTP includes biological treatment by activated sludge under a prolonged aeration regime with nitrification/denitrification and biological and chemical phosphorus removal, preceded by preliminary treatment, which includes mechanical harrowing, initial lifting and removal of sand and oil and grease, Águas do Algarve explained.
"The Boavista ApR investment is thus justified by its contribution to improving the treatment of urban wastewater for the production of ApR and its distribution from the Boavista WWTP," it added.
The company emphasised in a statement that climate change has caused "a significant reduction in rainfall in many regions", leading to water scarcity and increased pressure on water resources, "especially in areas where intensive use" of this resource is essential.
Águas do Algarve is therefore investing in solutions for the treatment and reuse of wastewater from its Wastewater Treatment Plants, with a view to irrigating golf courses in order to reduce the abstraction of natural water.
"By promoting the reuse of treated water for the irrigation of golf courses, Águas do Algarve is taking an important step towards mitigating the effects of water scarcity, while at the same time contributing to the reduction of potable water consumption. The process involves advanced treatment technologies, ensuring that the reused water meets the highest quality standards, without risk to health or the environment," the company emphasises.
In January, the president of the Algarve Tourist Board told Lusa that four golf courses are already connected to water for reuse (WFR) systems and that this number is expected to rise to 12 by 2027 and 32 by 2030.
The production of water for reuse is one of the lines of investment planned in the Algarve's Regional Water Efficiency Plan, in addition to the desalination plant, the Pomarão water catchment, in the district of Beja, and the reduction of water losses in the urban sector, with around €260 million in funds coming from the Recovery and Resilience Programme (The EU bazooka funds for post pandemnic economic recovery).
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