Local council says it has fulfilled a committment it made in 2005
It is a project that is still “in a testing phase,” but the two golf courses located in Castro Marim – Castro Marim Golfe & Country Club and Quinta do Vale – are already being irrigated with treated wastewater.
“Castro Marim has thus lived up to its promise when it approved these touristic golf developments in 2005,” the local council says in a statement to the press.
“With the construction of the golf courses, it was established that the wastewater from the new Vila Real de Santo António wastewater treatment plant, which at the time was a project led by the municipalities of Castro Marim and VRSA, would be reused for irrigation on the golf courses. Therefore, the pumping conduit to be used for transporting treated water to the Castro Marim golf courses was previously constructed, integrated into an elevatory interceptor system consisting of 14 lift stations and spanning 33 kilometers in length. This system allows the wastewater treatment plant to receive wastewater from Altura, Praia Verde, Cabeço, São Bartolomeu, Junqueira, Monte Francisco, and Castro Marim,” the council adds.
Over €7 million was invested in this initiative, with €5 million allocated to the construction of the conduit and an additional €2 million for the lift station, in addition to the “significant investments made by the developments involved.”
The two golf resorts, which can use up to one million cubic metres of water, were dependent on water from local dams. With the worsening of the region’s drought, a working group was created by the local council which also brought together Águas do Algarve, the regional water company, and the Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA). The first contract for the supply of ‘ApR’ – Water for Reuse, occurred in July of this year between Águas do Alagrve and Castro Marim Golfe & Country Club.
The local council adds that it is also working towards using recycled water for “other purposes such as garden irrigation and agriculture.”
“There are already commitments in place to ensure the same system for the Almada D’Ouro, Corte Velho development (…) and for the Verdelago development,” it says.
