The Great Algarve Stink
Hot days in summer, and those of us who live near water courses
(usually dried-up ones) are beginning to long for rain as the ditches
start to stink.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that I am staying in what looks like an
idyllic spot overlooking an estuary, there is a bit of a problem. One
of the big snags in the Algarve is the lack of proper sanitation. You
may have a nice bathroom in your hotel or new apartment, but the pipes
ultimately take the sewage to a river, and that takes it to the sea.
The usual problem concerns the fish and shell-fish. Catching fish
around the waterways at Olhao is banned because of the concentration of
sewage in the water. Strangely, there is no such ban in Portimao,
despite the obvious fact that the Arade river is loaded with sewage.
You can smell it as you come over the main bridge, and it is
particularly stomach churning on the western side.
Unfortunately that isn't the only problem. Many town sewage plants
empty directly into local water courses, and the colour of the stuff
coming out of the pipes is disturbing. The big problem is that altho
this is a serious health issue, it becomes ten times worse towards the
end of summer as the water courses dry up, and they contain only
sewage. High tides may wash up the channels every so often, but not
often enough. And when they do, that only helps to wash the sewage
further downstream till it empties (in our case) at the tourist beach
of Praia da Rocha.
Dont eat freshly caught fish and shell-fish anywhere near here if you
want to keep your stomach reasonably clean.
I suppose I am being a bit selfish praying for rain, but I live
upstream, and I need the sewage washed down to the beach and out of
reach of my nose.
There are, of course, no plans to improve things. I guess we wait for
an outbreak of some nasty plague. Meanwhile I shall steer well clear of
the fish.
john