Posted on May 27, 2026
The Minister of the Environment announced this Saturday, May 23rd, that the tender for the first phase of water intake from the Guadiana River, starting at Pomarão in the municipality of Mértola, will be launched in June, after the first phase failed to attract any bidders.
Maria da Graça Carvalho took a trip along the river between Mértola and the town of Pomarão, belonging to that municipality in the district of Beja, and upon arrival, before inaugurating the River Fish Fair, taking place in the Alentejo town, she gave an overview of the work underway in the area.
In addition to the project to take water from the Guadiana River in Pomarão, to reinforce the water supply to the Algarve through a connection to the Odeleite dam, Maria da Graça Carvalho said that repair work is also underway in the area to repair the damage caused by the floods recorded between January and February, and to dredge the river to ensure navigability up to Mértola.
“I had the opportunity to visit from Mértola to here in Pomarão and check the state of the works that have already been carried out under the protocol that we signed with the municipalities that suffered the most damage from the floods,” said the government official, recalling that Mértola and Alcácer do Sal were the first two municipalities to sign the agreement that allows them to receive funding from the Government for the recovery from the damage caused by the bad weather.
The minister stated that the agreement with Mértola “has a value of 2,8 million euros,” of which 1,5 million euros are earmarked for dredging the river to make it navigable between Mértola and Pomarão, a route that was currently navigable during high tide but becomes impassable when the tide goes out and the river has less flow.
The €2,8 million earmarked will allow for the cleaning of the riverbanks and the reconstruction of docks that were damaged along the route, both works already underway, while the dredging is still in the design phase, indicated Maria da Graça Carvalho.
This part is the “most expensive” and the “longest taking,” and it may be necessary to increase the budget allocated for this purpose in the coming years.
The mayor of Mértola, Mário Tomé, highlighted the importance of the river dredging project for the municipality, due to its potential for economic and tourism development in the area, stressing that it will be carried out in the “next two to three years”.
Regarding the water intake for Pomarão, the minister said that it will begin “very soon,” adding that the project will have “two phases,” and the first phase will be put out to tender in June.
Maria da Graça Carvalho indicated that this tender “already opened once, but was unsuccessful, and now it will be launched again,” while the second phase is now being reformulated, after the minister gave “guidelines to create a new route,” with “less environmental impact and less cost.”
The minister described the water intake at Pomarão as a “very important project for this entire region” and “to help supply water to the Algarve,” as it allows for the capture of an additional 60 cubic hectometers of water, following an agreement reached with Spain for this purpose. This volume will then be transferred to the Odeleite dam, from where it will supply the eastern Algarve (Sotavento) and, if necessary, the western Algarve (Barvalente).
