News

 The Board of Directors appointed for the 2017-2021 term came into office on

December 1.

Its business plan for 2018 and its budget, which reflects the strategic objectives established by the Strategic Plan 2016/2030, for the water supply, wastewater sanitation and urban waste management sectors, namely the quality of services, optimization and efficient management of resources and economic and financial sustainability, having been approved by the partners gathered for this purpose.

The subject of Water is superimposed on all these subjects, in this case the lack of it.

The drought settled in Portugal and the climate does not help; most of the territory is in extreme drought and forecasts tend to worsen. In this scenario, it is urgent to take measures that minimize waste and promote the parsimonious use of this increasingly scarce resource.

Infraquinta E.M. has long started the fight against water losses, reaching in the year 2017 unbilled water values of 4.6%, the lowest in the country.

Since 2004, the company invests in combating inefficiencies in the supply network, firstly by investing in telemetry and telemanagement, which allow the systematic control of the entire network and equipment, and then by implementing a counter substitution policy within the legal recommendations and measuring and control zones, by investing in detection and technical verification equipment, thus allowing timely detection of situations of breakdowns, improper connections or losses, as well as the training of its human resources, through participation in national programs to combat losses by specializing the existing knowledge.

Also downstream, ie as users, it was necessary to introduce changes in the way of operation, whether through the use of wastewater treated for irrigation, as well as the introduction into the public green spaces of native plants and the replacement of grass by gravel , pine bark and other elements with less need of water consumption. Also the irrigation systems were reviewed, leaving the sprinklers and adopting the drip method.<p/>More recently we have been working on projects to increase energy efficiency and use of treated wastewater, as well as rainwater, seeking to create synergies and the greatest possible use of this precious resource.

The Municipality of Loulé leads the way in the implementation of strategies to combat climate change and we feel we have done our part, however, much more remains to be done.

The future that some insist on not seeing is very close; it is therefore absolutely necessary to address this issue and take advantage of the best practices already tried.

"We never know the worth of water till the well is dry."

Thomas Fuller