Almadas mayor activates new boreholes as six districts face overnight water cuts

Almada’s water crisis deepens as six districts face overnight cuts while mayor announces new boreholes
Six neighbourhoods in Almada—including Trafaria, Raposeira, Corvina, Fonte Santa, Banática and Porto Brandão—entered a scheduled water outage at 22:00 on Thursday that will last until 06:00 today, leaving residents without running water for the second consecutive night . The interruption follows a pattern of rolling cuts that have left households and businesses in the Lisbon metropolitan area facing daily uncertainty over supply. Mayor Inês de Medeiros told Sic Notícias that the municipality had already activated one new borehole and will bring two more online immediately, with a fourth already in licensing, in an effort to end the shortages .
Speaking during a live broadcast at midnight, de Medeiros insisted the response to the crisis “did not begin this week,” noting that the new borehole is already operational and a second will come online today, while two further sites are being fast-tracked through licensing to meet rising demand . The mayor pushed back against criticism from PSD parliamentary leader Hugo Soares, who accused the council of failing to invest in the water network. De Medeiros pointed to her first two terms in coalition with the Social Democrats, during which PSD held key posts in the municipal water utility SMAS, and argued that responsibility for past underinvestment is shared .
Residents and shopkeepers in the affected areas describe the situation as “horrendous” and a “disgrace,” with local traders warning of mounting losses and some calling for the mayor’s resignation . The council’s pledge to add four new boreholes comes amid broader concerns over Portugal’s water infrastructure, with the prime minister acknowledging a “complex technological transition” in national exam systems while insisting the government is working to meet deadlines and restore normal service .
Across Europe, drought conditions are exacerbating pressure on water systems. In Hungary, the water level of Lake Öreg-tó in Tata has fallen to 170 centimetres—down from a normal high of around 300—after just 3.7 millimetres of rain in the past month, with daily losses of up to two centimetres in hot, windy weather . Meanwhile, Piedmont in Italy has seen river Po flows drop by up to 76% and is relying on water tankers in the Alta Langa and Valle Bormida areas, prompting regional authorities to reopen the Observatory for Drinking Water and Agriculture .
In Sweden, public broadcaster SVT has urged citizens to limit water use during shortages, but a leading editorial in *Svenska Dagbladet* argues the crisis is a political failure rather than a natural inevitability, noting that municipal water and sewer systems receive little political attention compared with visible services like schools and elder care .
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