Key takeaways
- APA's drought commission table puts Algarve golf at 13 of about 225 hm³ a year (6%), agriculture at 135 (60%) and public supply at 71 (32%); tourism has no separate line.
- The six Algarve dams held 317.7 hm³ of 445.9 hm³ (71.3%) on 19 October 2026 by our sum of APA's per-dam figures, above the October average and up from 26% in November 2023.
- The sector as a whole used 14.6 hm³ in 2019, enough for about 216,000 to 316,000 residents at 186 to 127 litres a day (derived); one average course equals about 6,500 residents.
- RCM 80/2024 did not ban golf watering: it suspended public-network supply, allowed 1.7 hm³ of surface water and expired on 31 December 2024.
- Reclaimed water delivered 364,147 m³ in 2024; Águas do Algarve forecasts 6.21 hm³ in 2027, below the 8 hm³ once promised for 2025.
- Our own tracker was wrong on four points: a 25% tourism cut in January 2024 (it was 15%), 72% dam storage in July 2026, an 8 hm³ reuse target by 2025, and Querença-Silves below 20%.
- The Albufeira desalination plant (16 hm³ a year, €107.92M award) is expected in the first quarter of 2029; it would cover about 7% of regional demand (derived), and the Pomarão intake has seven bids and no start date.
- The 5% cut announced on 14 March 2025 has no published legal instrument or end date, and no source for 2026 confirms whether it still applies.
The Algarve's golf courses draw about 13 of the region's 225 million cubic metres of water a year, 6%. Farming draws 135. The six dams that held 26% of their capacity in November 2023 held about 71% on 19 October 2026, after the wettest winter in 30 years, and the 5% cut the government announced in March 2025 has no published end date.
The Algarve's water story is usually told about golf and tourism, and the arithmetic points elsewhere. The region has six dams with a combined capacity of 445.9 hm³, and about half of all water used comes from boreholes, mostly for farming. Public supply, the system tourists use, is 94% surface water from those dams. Tourism has no line of its own in the regional water balance. It is folded into urban supply, with a separate slice for golf.
That gap is the main finding. No one publishes tourism's share of Algarve water, litres per guest-night for the region, a golf volume after 2020, or the legal text and status of the current restriction. We tested 15 claims for this article, seven of them from our own working notes, and most fail on the primary record. The corrections are in the first table below. This article extends our Algarve golf economics and Algarve tourism statistics studies and adds the water side.
Where the Algarve's water goes
The regional split comes from a presentation to the Comissão Permanente da Seca, the drought commission of the national water agency APA, at a meeting in Faro on 30 November. The file name carries a typo in the year and the sector table has no stated base year, so we treat it as a 2019 to 2021 baseline. It gives total use of about 225 hm³ a year: agriculture 135 (60%), public supply 71 (32%), golf 13 (6%) and other uses 6 (3%). Public supply is about 94% surface water. Agriculture is about 25% surface and 75% groundwater (percentages read from the slide). Across all uses the split between dams and boreholes is roughly half and half.
Other versions of the split differ. The Plano Regional de Eficiência Hídrica do Algarve (PREH, July 2020) is quoted at 56.7% agriculture, 28.6% urban and 6.4% golf in one newspaper column, and 56.8%, 34% and 6.4% by CNN Portugal, which adds an 11.7% share for urban tourism plus golf. A regional development report by EY-Parthenon for CCDR Algarve, published in August 2025, puts agricultural use at about 134 hm³ of 236 hm³ total demand, which is 57% (our arithmetic). DN reported in January 2024 that APA's estimates gave golf 6% and tourism 12%. We could not read the PREH tables, so we cannot say which version is right. All put golf at about 6% and farming at 57% to 60%.
| Sector | hm³ | Share | Water source (as read from the slide) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 135 | 60% | About 25% surface, 75% groundwater |
| Public supply (urban and tourism) | 71 | 32% | About 94% surface, 6% groundwater |
| Golf | 13 | 6% | Not split on the slide |
| Other | 6 | 3% | Not split |
| Total | 225 | 100% | About half surface, half groundwater |
Two other numbers frame the scale. Public supply needs about 75 hm³ a year according to Águas do Algarve, so the 317.7 hm³ in the dams on 19 October 2026 is 4.2 years of public supply on paper (derived, ignoring evaporation, ecological flows and the farming draw on the same dams). And the losses in municipal networks are about the size of golf: a speech by Poças Martins of the national water council in October 2024 put them at about 15 hm³ a year, and DECO PROteste counted more than 15 hm³ lost in 16 Algarve municipalities on 2022 data, 49% of the water billed to households (DECO's derivation). Golf used 14.6 hm³ in 2019.
Golf: how much water, from where, and what it equals
The most detailed golf figures come from a March 2021 study by Turismo de Portugal with the golf federation FPG and the national golf council CNIG. Thirty-six of 40 courses answered its questionnaire. They irrigate 1,296 hectares, about 36 hectares per 18-hole course, and used 10,635 m³ per hectare in 2017, 8,847 in 2018 and 10,606 in 2019. The study's 2019 total is 15,153,537 m³. The federation's own figure, quoted by Polígrafo, is 14,636,280 m³ for 2019, which is 356,982 m³ per course across 41 courses. APA's PREH bases put golf at about 15.3 hm³ in 2020 against 80.3 hm³ of urban use, so golf was 19% of urban consumption (derived). We found no published annual golf volume for 2021 to 2025. An older estimate of about 18 hm³ for 40 courses, from a University of Algarve study reported by the BBC in 2014, has been superseded by the APA series.
Course counts vary by source and year: 41 in 2019 (federation), 38 in 2023 (EY-Parthenon, used in our Algarve golf economics study) and about 40 elsewhere. The count matters less than the volume, and the volume has not been published since 2020.
The source of golf water is also inconsistent. The 2021 study's 2019 table shows 9.16 hm³ from groundwater and 6.0 hm³ from surface water, about 60% and 40% (derived), and no reclaimed water. Its questionnaire answers give 50% groundwater, 4% surface, 38% treated wastewater and 7% runoff, and the study itself notes that only two courses used reclaimed water at the time. Público reported in July 2022 that those two were Salgados and São Lourenço.
The popular comparison is with people. A social media post in February 2022 said 31 courses used as much water as 60% of residents. Polígrafo rated it false, because it recycled 2005 reporting of a 2004 University of Algarve study of 31 courses. Our own test is more careful. 14.64 hm³ is 40.1 million litres a day. At the 127 litres per person per day that ERSAR reports for mainland domestic use in 2021, that is about 316,000 people, and at 186 litres it is about 216,000, which is 37% to 55% of the 578,032 residents INE now estimates for the Algarve (all derived). The sector as a whole therefore equals the domestic demand of a mid-sized city. One average course equals about 6,500 residents at 150 litres. Neither figure supports the claim that golf takes most of the region's water.
Golf's water has been restricted and supplied differently since the drought, and the restrictions are where the claims go wrong. RCM 80/2024 suspended public-network supply to golf from June 2024. It left natural surface water open up to 1.7 hm³ (1.3 in Sotavento, 0.2 in Arade and 0.2 in Bravura) and allowed Águas do Algarve to spend up to €5 million extending treated wastewater to courses. It expired on 31 December 2024. A court-ordered ban it was not.
Reclaimed water: the target that slipped
Reclaimed wastewater, ApR in Portuguese, is the intended replacement for golf's borehole water. The target set in 2023 was to raise output from 1.4 to 8 hm³ a year, 71% of it for golf, by the end of 2025, at a cost of €23 million. Our tracker carried that target forward. Águas do Algarve's own plan for 2025 to 2027 does not support it. The company delivered 364,147 m³ of ApR in 2024, 0.9% of the 42.59 hm³ of treated effluent it handles. It projects 1.48 hm³ for 2025, 5.14 hm³ for 2026 and 6.21 hm³ for 2027. Even the 2027 forecast is below 8 hm³. Sul Informação now quotes a target of the end of 2026.
Two new plants have opened. The Quinta do Lago plant, a €2.8 million project funded from the EU recovery fund, was inaugurated on 6 December 2025. The Vilamoura plant was inaugurated on 8 July 2026 by the environment minister. The mayor of Loulé described it as 1,000 m³ an hour, about €14 million and a 12-kilometre network, and Postal named five courses (Old Course, Pinhal, Laguna, Millennium and Victoria) in the future tense. Other Postal reports give about €13 million and a start date of October 2024. The claim that it is the largest such plant in Europe comes from the municipality and the PSD, not from an independent source. Four courses were on reclaimed water by late 2025. No official count exists for 2026, so we do not publish a number of courses.
If golf took 71% of the 2027 forecast, it would receive about 4.4 hm³ of reclaimed water, roughly 30% of its 2019 use (derived, and assuming the 71% split holds).
The reservoirs after the wettest winter
APA's weekly bulletin of 19 October 2026 puts the six dams at 22,070 of 28,380 dam³ in Arade (78%), 36,060 of 47,720 in Funcho (76%), 26,183 of 34,825 in Bravura (75%), 112,548 of 157,000 in Odelouca (72%), 91,144 of 130,000 in Odeleite (70%) and 29,730 of 48,000 in Beliche (62%). The sum is 317.7 hm³ of 445.9 hm³, or 71.3%. APA prints no regional total in the table we could read, so the total is ours. The bulletin says Algarve basins are above the October average for 1990/91 to 2024/25. The press figure for 28 September 2026 was 74% and 328 hm³, which was 13 hm³ above a year earlier.
Those figures follow the largest swing in the record we found. The dams were at 26% in mid-November 2023 and fell to 131.1 hm³ (29%, derived) at the end of September 2024, with 154 hm³ (34%) on 18 November 2024. By 23 January 2025 they were at 45%, by 4 July 2025 at 83% and by 11 November 2025 at about 67%. APA's president reported 91% in the week of 20 February 2026. Nationally, 1 October 2025 to 28 February 2026 brought 923.8 mm of rain, the wettest in 30 years according to the GPP drought summary, and Faro had 119.6 mm more than its normal annual total by mid-February (IPMA).
The aquifers have recovered more slowly. APA wrote in September 2024 that the drought in the Querença-Silves aquifer was worse than 2005. APA's May 2026 report moved it from critical to the watch list, with one western station still under the 20th percentile but above its 2005 level. New-borehole licensing limits were lifted in Querença-Silves, Almádena-Odiáxere and Moura-Ficalho in May 2026. Press reports date that lifting to 1 May and 19 May, and the Campina de Faro aquifer stayed restricted. Our earlier note that Querença-Silves was below 20% is out of date.
The next test is the autumn. IPMA's September 2026 summary shows national rainfall of 12.7 mm, 30% of normal and the fifth driest September since 2000, with a mean temperature 2.91 degrees above normal. IPMA's seasonal outlook for October to December shows no rainfall signal for the south. The dams lost about 10 hm³ in the three weeks to 19 October (derived, about 3.4 hm³ a week). At that pace storage would still be above 60% in mid-December (derived), so autumn rain matters more than the headline percentage.
The rules: three regimes in 30 months
The Algarve has had three restriction regimes since early 2024. RCM 26-A/2024, published on 20 February 2024, set targets against 2023 use: urban at least 15% (tourism is part of that figure), agriculture 25% and golf 18%. It ran to 30 September 2024. RCM 80/2024 of 21 June 2024 replaced it with urban 10%, agriculture 13% and tourism 13%, a golf supply ban from the public network, a 15% cut on groundwater against licensed volumes, and a bar on new water titles in 22 groundwater bodies. It ran to 31 December 2024. On 14 March 2025 the environment minister announced a uniform 5% cut for all sectors, measured against 2019. DN and RTP reported on 4 July 2025 that it still applied to all sectors including golf.
| Regime | Date | Urban / tourism | Agriculture | Golf | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RCM 26-A/2024 | DR 20 Feb 2024 | Urban at least 15% (tourism inside) | 25% | 18% target | 30 Sep 2024 |
| RCM 80/2024 | DR 21 Jun 2024 | Urban 10%; tourism 13% | 13%; groundwater 15% | Public network off; 1.7 hm³ surface; up to €5M for ApR | 31 Dec 2024 |
| Uniform 5% (announcement) | 14 Mar 2025 | 5% against 2019 | 5% | Reported inside the 5% (DN, Jul 2025) | No end date; no legal text found |
The legal basis of the current regime is the gap. We found no Diário da República text for the 5% measure and no 2026 primary source that confirms or repeals it. APA's bulletin and the government have not announced a formal end to the drought alert, which APA declared on 5 December 2023. The fine regime is also thin. RCM 80/2024 sets no amounts, and non-compliance falls under article 25 of Lei 50/2006. It did set surcharges on urban use above the cap: 10% on the first 5% of excess, 20% from 5% to 10% and 50% above 10%. A regional tariff rise of 15%, 30% and 50% proposed by the municipal association AMAL for March 2024 was suspended on 29 February 2024 after four municipalities objected.
The results were mixed. In February 2024, the first month, agriculture and golf combined cut use by 69% (about 90,000 m³, as reported) while urban use fell 0.5% against a 15% target (ECO, 7 March 2024). Over January to September 2024, APA reported consumption 8% below 2023, about 4.7 hm³ saved, with only five of 16 municipalities meeting their targets (via Portugal Resident, 28 October 2024). Hotels reported larger savings, covered below.
New supply: desalination, a river intake and reuse
The Albufeira desalination plant at Praia da Falésia is the headline project. Águas do Algarve awarded the contract in October 2024 to a consortium that includes Luságua, Aquapor and GS Inima, at €107.92 million, and signed on 22 October 2024. Funding moved from the recovery fund to the Sustentável 2030 programme (€110.3 million, Ambiente Online, 7 October 2025). Postal reported on 14 October 2026 a total of €116.9 million and operation in the first quarter of 2029, with 16 hm³ a year in phase one and an expansion to 24 hm³. The original plan had completion at the end of 2026 or early 2027, so the delay is about two years. Our own tracker's 2028 date is superseded, and its statement that works began in April 2026 is only partly right: APA authorised construction that month, a new injunction was filed on 26 April, and Postal and Lusa reported on 24 September that marine works began in early September 2026.
The legal fights have not ended. The administrative court in Loulé rejected an environmental injunction, reported on 7 and 8 October 2025, for lack of instrumentality. Seacliff, the former landowner, filed another on 26 April 2026, alleged that works continued and was told by Águas do Algarve that the site was suspended. We could not read the court outcome. Headlines in July 2026 suggest the court sided with APA, but we did not open them, so the status of the injunction is a gap.
The Pomarão intake on the Guadiana estuary, with a pipeline to the Odeleite dam, is the second project, and our research brief had the wrong place name. The tender launched on 13 December 2024 at a base price of €101 million for 30 hm³ a year. Postal reported on 14 October 2026 a total of €188.7 million, of which Sustentável 2030 covers €172.9 million, and about 16 hm³ a year on average, with seven bids still under evaluation and no start date. Desalination costs per cubic metre have risen. The 2022 plan, as set out in a Postal parliamentary column, allotted €45 million for 8 hm³ of desalination and €75 million for the reservoirs and Pomarão. Desalination is now €107.92 million for 16 hm³, €6.7 million per hm³ against €5.6 million (derived).
| Project | 2022 plan | October 2026 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albufeira desalination | €45M, 8 hm³ | €107.92M award; €116.9M total; 16 hm³ (24 later) | Marine works since Sep 2026; operation Q1 2029 |
| Pomarão to Odeleite | €75M (with reservoirs), +30 hm³ | €188.7M; about 16 hm³ average | Seven bids under evaluation |
| Reclaimed water (ApR) | €23M, 8 hm³ by 2025 | Actual 0.36 hm³ (2024); forecast 6.21 hm³ (2027) | Quinta do Lago (Dec 2025), Vilamoura (Jul 2026) |
| Network losses | €35M | About 15 hm³ a year lost (speech, 2024) | RCM 80/2024 earmarked €5M |
What other drought regions did
The comparison below uses press and government figures with different dates. Andalucía's drought was declared over by decree on 10 April 2026, with Málaga's reservoirs at 95.7%. At the peak in February 2024 it limited four Mediterranean systems to 160 litres per person per day, banned drinking water for most golf and barred pool filling. Catalonia declared an emergency in February 2024 with 200 litres per person, falling to 160, and its deputy premier said hotel supplies would not be cut. Its El Prat and Tordera plants have a capacity of 60 and 20 hm³ a year. Cyprus had its dams at 21% in March 2026 and relies on desalination for about 70% of drinking water in its three main cities. Attica declared an emergency in December 2025, with 371 hm³ in reserve in November, and had 723.6 hm³ by 31 March 2026. Sicily had about 60 hm³ in September 2024 against 300 a year earlier.
The Algarve expressed its measures as percentage cuts against a base year, while Andalucía and Catalonia used litres per person per day. Hotels were cut by 15% in February 2024 and 13% in June, and beach showers had to run on seawater. What sets the Algarve apart is the lack of a defined exit. Catalonia tied its phases to published reservoir percentages, with emergency at 16% in the Ter-Llobregat system. We found no published threshold for the Algarve's 5% measure.
Risks and what would change the assessment
Three risks matter for the next 18 months. The first is rainfall. Storage was 26% in November 2023 after dry years, and 94% of public supply is surface water. The second is delay. Desalination has slipped and the Pomarão project has no start date. The third is information. Without the legal text of the 5% measure, hotels, courses and farmers cannot see what triggers its end or its tightening.
Four thresholds would change our reading. Storage under 50% before December would put the January 2025 low of 45% back in play. A return of Querença-Silves to the critical list would signal groundwater stress. A desalination start date later than early 2029 would reopen the supply gap. Reclaimed water under 5 hm³ in 2027 would confirm that golf's switch away from boreholes is years away.
What this means for travelers, businesses and analysts
Travelers. We found no report of rationing at hotels or beaches this autumn, and the dams are above the October average. The 2024 rules closed beach showers unless they ran on seawater and restricted hotel gardens, and nothing like that is reported for 2026. Peak pressure comes in July and August, when guests in accommodation equal about one in five residents. Visit in the shoulder months if you want the lightest load, and see our Algarve travel guide for where to base yourself. Our guides to Albufeira and Vilamoura cover the town that will host the desalination plant and the resort with the newest reclaimed-water plant.
Tourism businesses and investors. The binding constraint is the lack of any published exit from the 5% rule. Golf is 6% of use, and its reclaimed water rose from 0.36 hm³ in 2024 to a forecast 6.21 hm³ in 2027 across all users. Hotels are 11% to 13% of public supply on our rough check, and the ADENE sample of 105 reported 10% less per night and 13% less in total. Underwriters should model the 5% cut as continuing until an exit is published, a return of the 2024 cuts as a scenario, and desalination as an early-2029 asset with costs still rising. Thresholds to watch are dams under 50%, a published end to the 5% rule, and the court outcome in Loulé. The Portugal golf industry study sets the national golf economics against these volumes, and the Portugal Invitational study covers the one event publicly supported in Vilamoura.
Journalists and analysts. Safe to cite: golf 13 of 225 hm³ (6%) on APA's table; six dams at 71.3% on 19 October 2026 (our sum of APA's per-dam figures); RCM 80/2024's 1.7 hm³ golf surface cap; ApR of 364,147 m³ in 2024; the Albufeira plant at €107.92 million and 16 hm³ with operation expected in early 2029. Do not repeat: that golf uses most of the region's water; the 440 and 250 litre comparison; a 25% tourism cut in 2024; an 8 hm³ reuse target met by 2025; or the claim that the Algarve will run out of water, which has no source and conflicts with 317.7 hm³ in storage. Add to the series: the status of the 5% measure as a data gap, and the finding that tourism has no line in any regional water balance.
Data & sources
Period covered: 2019 to 19 October 2026
- APA, Comissão Permanente da Seca (Faro meeting) · Regional water use by sector (225 hm³: agriculture, public supply, golf, other). Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
- APA, weekly reservoir bulletin (19 October 2026) · Per-dam storage and capacity for Arade, Funcho, Bravura, Odelouca, Odeleite and Beliche. Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
- APA, Algarve drought report (30 September 2024) · September 2024 storage low, April 2024 peak, Querença-Silves aquifer status. Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
- Águas do Algarve, water availability · Odelouca, Odeleite and Beliche storage on 10 July 2026; public supply and reuse data. Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
- Resolução do Conselho de Ministros 80/2024 · Restriction regime of June 2024: urban, agriculture, tourism, golf caps and surcharges. Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
- Resolução do Conselho de Ministros 26-A/2024 (copy) · February 2024 sector targets: urban at least 15%, agriculture 25%, golf 18%. Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
- Governo de Portugal, press release of 22 May 2024 · Relief of restrictions across sectors (about 20 hm³ in total). Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
- RR, 14 March 2025 · Announcement of the uniform 5% cut for all sectors. Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
- Polígrafo fact-check on golf and residents · Federation figures: 41 courses, 14,636,280 m³ in 2019, 356,982 m³ per course; test of the 60% claim. Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
- Turismo de Portugal, FPG and CNIG golf water efficiency study (March 2021) · Questionnaire of 36 of 40 courses: hectares irrigated, m³ per hectare, 2019 total and water sources. Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
- CCDR Algarve, O Valor Económico da Agricultura Algarvia (29 August 2025) · Agricultural water use of about 134 hm³ of 236 hm³, citrus area, value added and jobs. Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
- GPP, monthly drought summary (February 2026) · National rainfall 1 October 2025 to 28 February 2026 (923.8 mm); no meteorological drought. Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
- IPMA, precipitation and climate summaries (January and September 2026) · Faro rainfall above its normal annual total by mid-February; September 2026 rainfall 30% of normal. Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
- Eurostat, nights spent at tourist accommodation (tour_occ_nin2m) · Algarve nights 2025 (22,941,654 including campsites) and monthly series. Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
- EEA, Water Exploitation Index plus · European water scarcity indicator; no Algarve-specific value retrieved. Accessed 25 Oct 2026.
Methodology
We read the primary documents that could be opened (APA's drought commission table and reservoir bulletin, the Algarve drought report of September 2024, RCM 26-A/2024 and RCM 80/2024, the 2021 golf water study through its press reproductions, and the GPP and IPMA summaries) and used Águas do Algarve, Postal, Lusa, ECO, Observador, RR, DN, Barlavento and Polígrafo for what could not be read directly. The INE website is blocked from our research environment, so INE population and tourism figures come from Eurostat and press reproductions of INE releases, which we name.
Three limits govern the article. First, the regional water balance rests on one APA presentation whose year is unclear and which has no tourism line, so tourism's share is a derived illustration, not a measurement. Second, the 19 October 2026 storage total is our sum of per-dam figures from a bulletin table read second-hand, because APA prints no regional total there. Third, the status of the 5% restriction in 2026 is unconfirmed: no legal text and no 2026 primary source were found.
Where sources conflict we publish both values and say which the evidence favours. Circulated claims were tested against the primary record and given a verdict. Claims that came from our own tracker and research brief were tested the same way and are labelled as ours. Derived figures are marked wherever they appear.
Notes on the data
Gaps. No published figure exists for tourism's share of Algarve water, litres per guest-night for the region, golf volumes after 2020, the legal instrument for the 5% cut or its 2026 status, the outcome of the April 2026 injunction against the Albufeira plant, Querença-Silves levels for 2026, Algarve-specific rainfall deficits, ERSAR litres per resident for most Algarve municipalities, or any measured effect of water stress on bookings. The PREH tables and Despacho 443/2020 could not be read.
Contested figures. Regional demand is about 225 hm³ (APA slide), about 236 hm³ (EY-Parthenon for CCDR Algarve) or 310 hm³ (an opinion column). Golf is 13 hm³ (APA slide), 14.64 hm³ (federation, 2019), 15.15 hm³ (golf study, 2019), 15.3 hm³ (APA PREH bases, 2020) or about 18 hm³ (a 2014 estimate, superseded). Course counts are 38, 40 or 41. Desalination costs appear as €107.92M (award), €110.3M (co-funding) and €116.9M (reported total). Pomarão is reported at €101M and 30 hm³ in December 2024 and €188.7M and about 16 hm³ in October 2026. The date for lifting groundwater licensing limits is 1 May or 19 May 2026 depending on the report. Dam storage in July 2026 is about 84% on two sources and 72% in our earlier note.
Failed claims. That golf uses most of the region's water, that it uses as much as 60% of residents, that it has been banned from watering, that tourists use 440 litres against 250 or three times a resident, that desalination will solve the shortage, and that the Algarve will run out of water are unsupported or misleading. Our own claims also failed: a 25% tourism cut in January 2024, 72% storage in July 2026, an 8 hm³ reuse target met by 2025, Querença-Silves below 20% and works starting in April 2026.
Derived figures. Total storage of 317.7 hm³ and 71.3%; capacity of 445.9 hm³; percentages and volumes for several dates; 4.2 years of public supply; people-equivalents of golf; 11% to 13% for hotels; nights per resident and guest-night ratios; desalination at 7.1% and 10.7% of demand; and cost per hm³ are our arithmetic. Self-reported or promotional figures include the federation's golf data, the Vilamoura plant description by the municipality, the ADENE hotel sample and the farm lobby's loss estimate.
Frequently asked questions
How much of the Algarve's water do golf courses use?
About 6%. APA's drought commission table gives golf 13 hm³ of about 225 hm³ a year, and the PREH figures quoted by the press give 6.4%. The federation put golf at 14.6 hm³ in 2019. No annual golf volume has been published since 2020.
Are Algarve reservoirs full in October 2026?
No. APA's bulletin of 19 October 2026 sums to about 71% (317.7 of 445.9 hm³, our arithmetic), above the October average for 1990/91 to 2024/25. They stood at 91% in February 2026 and 26% in November 2023.
Are there water restrictions in the Algarve now?
A uniform 5% cut was announced on 14 March 2025 and was still reported in force in July 2025. We found no legal text and no 2026 primary source confirming or ending it, so its status is unconfirmed.
Is golf banned from using water in the Algarve?
No. RCM 80/2024 suspended public-network supply to golf from June 2024 but allowed 1.7 hm³ of surface water and up to €5M for reclaimed water. It expired on 31 December 2024.
How much water do tourists use in the Algarve?
No regional figure is published. A voluntary hotel sample measured 0.35 to 0.40 m³ per guest-night in January to May 2024. Applied to 22.94 million nights that is 8.0 to 9.2 hm³, 11% to 13% of public supply (derived, rough).
When will the Albufeira desalination plant open?
Postal reported on 14 October 2026 that operation is expected in the first quarter of 2029, at a reported €116.9M, with 16 hm³ a year in phase one. The original plan had completion at the end of 2026 or early 2027.
What is the biggest user of water in the Algarve?
Agriculture, at 135 of about 225 hm³ (60%) on APA's table and about 134 of 236 hm³ (57%, derived) in CCDR Algarve's 2025 study. About 75% of it comes from groundwater.
Will the Algarve run out of water?
We found no source for that claim. The six dams held 317.7 hm³ on 19 October 2026 against public supply of about 75 hm³ a year, 4.2 years on paper (derived). The risk is a run of dry winters, as in 2022 to 2024.
Does reclaimed water irrigate Algarve golf courses?
Partly. About four courses used it by late 2025, and plants opened at Quinta do Lago (December 2025) and Vilamoura (July 2026). Delivery was 364,147 m³ in 2024, 0.9% of treated effluent, against golf use of about 14.6 hm³.