The first notice for the submission of applications runs until the end of September, having as main beneficiaries the municipalities, municipal companies and concessionaire companies for the exploration and management of public water distribution services, AMAL announced in a statement.

The association that brings together the 16 municipalities of the Algarve will receive for the period 2021/2025 a global amount of €35 million to optimise water supply networks in the district of Faro, under a contract signed on Tuesday.

According to AMAL, the funds made available through the PRR funds will make it possible to renew or rehabilitate water supply networks that have a high level of losses and whose replacement will allow gains in operational efficiency.

The association adds that projects that ensure “the active monitoring and control of losses in sections of the supply network where it is estimated that there is large waste of water” are eligible.

“The support given to applications will be non-refundable, that is, a 100 percent non-refundable grant, financed through the “Next Generation EU” fund, the document reads.

According to data provided by the Regulatory Authority for Water and Waste Services, in 2019 approximately 188 billion litres of water were wasted in the supply networks themselves.