MUNICIPALITIES OF PLANALTO BEIRÃO AND ÁGUAS DO PLANALTO WILL INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF THE PAÚL DAM
The project aims to increase the infrastructure’s total capacity by another 300,000 cubic meters, the equivalent of a month’s consumption in the summer months.
The Association of Municipalities of the Planalto Beirão Region (AMRPB) and Águas do Planalto have reached an agreement to increase the capacity of the Paúl Dam by the equivalent of one month’s consumption in the summer. The decision was taken at a meeting held today in Tondela, attended by representatives of AMPB and Águas do Planalto, as well as the five mayors of the municipalities supplied by the company: Carregal do Sal, Mortágua, Santa Comba Dão, Tábua and Tondela.
Increasing the capacity of the Paúl Dam is a long-standing desire of AMRPB and Águas do Planalto, as it will increase the resilience of the water supply system for the five municipalities that are part of the concession. A security for the more than 68,000 users served by Águas do Planalto, at a time when climate change is causing more and more problems with water supplies around the world. It should be remembered that, according to the IPMA – Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere, more than 66% of the country was in severe drought last February.
The decision now taken will lead to an increase of 300,000 cubic meters in the capacity of the Paúl Dam (around 12.5%) by increasing the water containment infrastructure by approximately one meter. AMRPB will probably submit the works project to the competent authorities in the first half of this year.
For Leonel Gouveia, President of the Planalto Beirão Municipalities Association and Santa Comba Dão City Council, “this structuring work is a huge asset, not only for the population of the five municipalities served by Águas do Planalto, but for the entire central region of the country”. “By increasing the capacity of the Paúl Dam reservoir, we can guarantee a more secure water supply for our populations,” he added. Leonel Gouveia also stressed that this joint project between AMPB, Águas do Planalto and the five municipalities is “proof of the unity and collective effort that these entities make on behalf of the populations they serve”.
“We’ve been working together with AMRPB and these five municipalities for 25 years, always with the aim of improving the service we provide. This increase in the capacity of the Paúl Dam is a project that we have been thinking about for a long time, and which will make it possible to ensure that the quality of the service is maintained even in periods when there is a greater shortage of water,” guarantees Paulo Oliveira, president of Águas do Planalto.
Since 1997, Águas do Planalto, the concession managed by Aquapor, has been responsible for the operation and management of municipal water supply and distribution services in the municipalities of Carregal do Sal, Mortágua, Santa Comba Dão, Tábua and Tondela, and has always been distinguished by ERSAR – the Water and Waste Services Regulatory Authority – for the quality of its drinking water with the Exemplary Quality Seal for Water for Human Consumption.
