Promoter: TARH (Land, Environment and Water Resources, Lda.)

 

Partners:

• Municipality of Monchique

• CCMar (Marine Sciences Center at the University of the Algarve)

• NIBIO (Norsk Institutt for Bioøkonomi)

 

Project budget: 198 754.58 euros (funded at the rate of 100%)

 

Start: April 21, 2015

End: December 31, 2016

Project summary:

 

The project we propose will take place in the municipality of Monchique, a mountainous area of the Algarve interior. It is a very likely area forest fires and subject to desertification, where the county's population is supplied by groundwater, by a system mainly consists of horizontal holes and springs / galleries, extremely vulnerable to weather variability. According to the latest forecasts of the IPCC, there will be changes in the rainfall regime, it is likely to occur perlongados periods without rainfall, which may lead to problems in the normal functioning of public supply. The main objective of the project is to increase the resilience of the system, trying to improve the security of supply.

 

We anticipate the construction of an artificial recharge system, taking advantage of some existing structures (weir), and leading and infiltrating the excess water during the rainy season in place at the right time in order to make it available in the groundwater extraction during dry season. This project will act as a pilot test to determine their benefits and their economic viability for replication in other locations with similar supply systems, very common in the Iberian mountainous regions.

 

The construction of recharge structures will address the environmental and forest environment through the promotion / creation of wetlands, functioning as an ecological corridor, promoting biodiversity in the area. Promoting the dissemination of scientific knowledge is another of the objectives, it is expected to conduct two conference publication of results, the publication of a book and still signaling place with adequate scientific information.

 

The promoter of this project is to TARH a consultancy specializing in Water Resources already experienced in projects of artificial recharge and will involve the following partners:

• The municipality of Monchique, designed to improve the safety and quality of water supply, increasing the efficiency of funding, and the replacement of a eucalyptus plantation area by indigenous forest),

• The Norwegian Institute of forest and landscape (Skogoglandskap) specializing in forest management which will study the implications of the operation in forestry, particularly regarding the risk forest fires)

• CCMAR to be responsible for monitoring and evaluation of impacts on biodiversity in the intervention area.