Almada Water Supply Failures Demand Urgent Action

Almada’s water supply under pressure

Opening a tap and watching water pour out has become such an everyday act that it can seem almost magical. By means few ordinary consumers ever consider, water emerges from the aluminium spout with such certainty that, when taps run dry, the initial shrug of indifference turns into mounting panic as the hours pass. This has become daily life for thousands of Almada residents.

Unannounced cuts in Costa de Caparica

This is not the first summer of intermittent water supply in Costa de Caparica. However, residents and business owners told journalist Rogério Matos that it is the first in which outages have arrived without warning, at any time of day and, worse still, for an unknown duration. It is easy to blame rising water use and the larger summer population. Yet should coastal areas not welcome the tourists and visitors who sustain the local economy during the summer?

Almada City Council can, and should, urge residents to act responsibly by moderating their water use. It may even use water tariffs to enforce lower consumption through higher prices when residents fail to show that awareness. Nevertheless, after Portugal experienced days of intense heat, a sharp rise in water use was entirely predictable. What should not be happening in 2026 is the absence of municipal and inter-regional planning capable of preventing taps from running dry.

Almada water losses and unreliable service

Before spending on the secondary, local authorities have a duty to invest in what matters most. In Almada, that means stopping the loss of 284 litres of water per service connection each day, while more than a third of distributed water - 33.4%, above the national average of 26.5% - remains unbilled, according to the latest annual report from the Water and Waste Services Regulatory Authority (ERSAR). ERSAR must also accept responsibility, having allowed the service provided by Almada to remain unreliable for years.