They use fire trucks to supply water.

The municipality of Nelas is being supplied with water by fire trucks and will continue to do so until next Thursday, the mayor, Joaquim Amaral, told Lusa.

The municipality of Nelas, in the district of Viseu, is being supplied by 12 vehicles from volunteer fire brigades in the municipality and the region to “make up for the lack of water supply and help with the reserves made” by the Municipality.

“We had to resort to this alternative system because on Monday the 30th there was a seven-hour water cut for maintenance and sanitation at the Fagilde Water Treatment Plant. On July 2nd there was another cut and another is scheduled for the 7th,” he explained.

Joaquim Amaral told Lusa news agency that he requested that the maintenance and cleaning scheduled for this Monday be postponed “so as not to cause further disruption, but the response received is that “technically it is not possible” to postpone it.

The municipality of Nelas is supplied by the Fagilde dam, which also distributes water to the municipalities of Viseu, Penalva do Castelo and Mangualde. Mangualde is both a water receiver and distributor, since Nelas receives water through Mangualde.

“The dam may have a lot of water, but as we know, it does not have storage capacity and that is why another dam is already planned. The ETA can only treat 26,500 cubic meters (m3) of water and Nelas receives an average of 4,100 m3”, he specified.

With the seven-hour shutdown on June 30 and another seven hours on July 2, the mayor continued, “plus the hours needed to restart the entire system, the population of Nelas, which has no alternative supply, was left without water”.

“With the high temperatures that have been felt, consumption has increased enormously which, associated with the system being cut for maintenance”, has accentuated the imbalance in supply, he explained.

The situation led the president of Nelas to activate the Contingency Plan and the Municipal Emergency and Civil Protection Plan so that it would be “possible to resort to support and collaboration in emergency situations with the collaboration of various fire brigades”.

“The work to supply the reservoir and deposits will continue until at least next Thursday. This time, using the Services’ contract with the Volunteer Firefighters who were present as part of the civil protection, in a total of 12 vehicles, which allow the delivery of around 1,250m3/day”, the mayor calculated.

The Nelas Council has entered into a contract with the Volunteer Firefighters of Canas de Senhorim and Nelas, Tondela, Cabanas de Viriato (Carregal do Sal); with Seia (Guarda district) and Lagares da Beira and Oliveira do Hospital (Coimbra district).

President Joaquim Amaral clarified that “contrary to what they say, the Municipality of Nelas does not have any debt to other municipalities or even the supply system” which is the Municipal Water and Sanitation Service (SMAS) of Viseu.

The social-democratic mayor regretted “all the constraints and inconveniences caused” to residents, asking them to “use water in moderation and responsibly”.