News

Controlled Releases at Alqueva Dam

EDIA opened the mid-level outlet gates of the Alqueva Dam at 4:00 p.m. on January 28 to carry out controlled releases, in response to the persistence of high inflows into the Alqueva–Pedrógão System, which raised reservoir levels close to the Full Supply Level.

The initial discharge flow of 600 m³/s, combined with the turbine flow, resulted in a total released flow of 1,200 m³/s.

The discharge flow at Pedrógão Dam was approximately 1,500 m³/s.

Storage at Alqueva had been managed primarily through hydroelectric power generation, allowing regulation of water volumes while ensuring energy production. Meanwhile, Pedrógão Dam, located 23 km downstream, was carrying out releases to help manage incoming flows. However, due to the continued high inflows, it became necessary to supplement this operation with controlled releases at Alqueva as well, ensuring the maintenance of the reservoir’s operational safety margins.

These releases caused a rise in water levels and flows in the Guadiana River downstream of the Alqueva and Pedrógão dams. The situation is being continuously monitored by EDIA in coordination with the relevant authorities.

EDIA requests the cooperation of local authorities, civil protection agents, and the public to ensure the safety of people and property. Special attention is recommended in riverside areas and potentially flood-prone zones, as well as the adoption of preventive safety measures.

EDIA will continue to monitor the hydrological situation on an ongoing basis, making any necessary operational adjustments and providing updated information in accordance with developments.

EDIA is a partner in the Germ of Life Project

The Mediterranean region, highly exposed to the consequences of droughts due to climate change, will be the focus of action in pilot zones for the Germ of Live project, where the solutions developed will be applied based on direct observations and forecasting models.

EDIA contributes with drought risk management tools and will adopt the solutions developed internally. In addition, EDIA will also create a pilot area dedicated to Mediterranean Temporary Ponds, with a weather station to monitor climatic parameters.

This project is co-funded by the Interreg Euro-MED programme and aims to develop an innovative system of digital technologies to improve the preventive management of drought risks.

The project involves 10 organisations from 6 Euro-Mediterranean countries and has received more than 2.3 million euros in European funding.
The project, which began in January 2024 and will last 33 months, is coordinated by the University of Patras (Greece) and has partners from several European Institutions.

Two face-to-face meetings have already been held, in March (Seville) and September (Marseille), with the participation of EDIA.

Portugal’s Alqueva 50 MW Floating PV tender open for proposals

EDIA started the request for qualification stage for a solar tender that will support 4 floating photovoltaic plants, totalling 52MWp, in reservoirs integrated in the Alqueva irrigation system, creating Europe’s largest floating photovoltaic project, occupying over 42hectares and using over 100,000 solar panels.

The tender seeks companies or consortia for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) as well as operation and maintenance (O&M) for a 3 year period, at a maximum price of 45M€.

This first phase of the tender will be used to select companies or consortia with proven experience in floating photovoltaic technologies, in terms of design, construction and operation of large plants, in addition to other technical requirements and financial capacity. Proposals must be submitted on the public procurement platform (https://community.vortal.biz/sts/Login) until 11th january 2024. All documents that constitute the proposal must be written in Portuguese.
Subsequently, qualified entities will be invited to present proposals, with the evaluation criteria considering the price, technical performance and extended warranties of the proposed equipment.

THE COMPANY
EDIA – Empresa de Desenvolvimento e Infra-estruturas do Alqueva, S.A., is a public company owned exclusively by the portuguese state, and is fully staffed to design, operate, manage, maintain and promote the Alqueva Multipurpose Project.

THE ALQUEVA PROJECT
Located in Alentejo, in the south of Portugal, Alqueva is a multiple purposes project, where the Alqueva dam, built on the international Guadiana river, is the water source for a system made up of a total of 72 reservoirs and with a water distribution network longer than 2200 km.
Centered on the Alqueva reservoir, Europe’s largest man-made strategic water reserve, with a total capacity of 4,15 billion cubic meters, the Alqueva Multipurpose Project has a size, scope and modernity of infrastructure that currently allows it to irrigate an area of 150,000 hectares, produce hydroelectric energy with pump-storage, enabling total complementarity with photovoltaic plants, public and industrial supply, preservation of the environment and heritage, territorial planning and the development of tourist activities.

EDIA promotes Case Study within the scope of the MERLIN Project

MERLIN is a European Project that promotes nature-based solutions (NbS) as a main method to tackle current social issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss and other challenges addressed by the European Green Deal.

With a total of 18 case studies, in 15 European countries, EDIA is responsible for the Case Study 18 (CS 18), relating to the Ervidel Floodpalin, which comprises the implementation of ecological restoration interventions of a “Xacafre” segment stream and respective floodplain, and also with the plan to install flower meadow areas and shelters for the pollinators reproduction as a measure to promote biodiversity.

The Case Study 18, to be developed in a stream of “Ervidel” Irrigation Perimeter, integrated in the Alqueva Multi-Purpose Development, was identified as a Twinning Case Study of “Sorraia” Case Study 13. The CS18 having been approved by the European Commission, following an application submitted by the Institute Agriculture School (ISA), with EDIA as the partner of the implementation project.

The restoration interventions fall into three fundamental tasks:
   1. Ecological Restoration of the riparian gallery of a stream segment (also known as Vale de Água/Pero Bonito stream), through the implementation of measures with different types of intervention, namely cleaning (pruning, cleaning, unblocking and desilting); planting indigenous riparian tree and shrub species; implementation of techniques using natural engineering and maintenance actions;
   2. Sowing a flowering meadow, with a mixture of native herbaceous species for pollen production, in an area of approximately 1 hectare;
   3. Installation of pollinators hotels – with the aim to creating shelters for pollinator reproduction.

The 18 case studies cover a sectors variety, including Agriculture; Water Supply; Hydroelectric; Navigation; and Peat Extraction, and are distributed across 15 European countries, and there are countries with more than 1 case study, such as Portugal, which presents 3 Case Studies (CS) – CS 12 Lima Catchment; CS13 Sorraia Floodplain and the EDIA Case Study – CS18 Ervidel Floodplain.

The Project “MERLIN–Mainstreaming Ecological Restoration of freshwater-related ecosystems in a Landscape context: Innovation, upscaling and transformation “ is co-financed by the H2020-IA (Innovation Action) program, coordinated by the Druuisberg-Essen University in Germany, with the “Instituto Superior de Agronomia”(ISA) as Scientific Partner.

» Ficha do Projeto do  MERLIN – CS18 Ervidel Floodplain

» Mais informação sobre o Projeto MERLIN AQUI

Navigation in Alqueva

On this page you can access the navigation signaling in the Alqueva Reservoir through Google Maps.

This feature pretends to facilitate navigation, as it allows users to know exactly their location in the Alqueva Reservoir, as well as the original location of all navigation buoys and axes.

To learn more click HERE

Alqueva Beyond Water

Alqueva, beyond water, its a region with sun, land and people, full of life, nature and history.

Beyond the water that manages, EDIA is responsible for the sustainable development of Alqueva Territory.

EDIA cooperates with the banking sector

EDIA, aware of the importance of financing in ensuring the full exploitation of the opportunities and potential of the agricultural and agroindustry sectors in Alqueva, entered into a cooperation agreement with several banks.

The aim of this agreement is to encourage the financing of competitive and sustainable investment projects intended to be established within the Alqueva irrigation perimeters.

Alqueva in the Center of the Future

Welcome to Alqueva. Discover the region in southern Portugal where a fresh new land can be found, where ideas and opportunities are even fresher so that new businesses produce new fruit.

Alqueva is a project of EDIA – Empresa de Desenvolvimento e Infra-estruturas do Alqueva – which pretend to ensure the sustainable development of the region through agriculture.

The future of the region is prepared every day in Alqueva, making it more attractive to domestic and foreign investors, refining what it offers and generating development from its greatest natural asset: water.