WDD dismisses privatisation fears amid worsening drought crisis

Water resources will remain under full state control, the water development department (WDD) insisted in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The department stressed that under existing law, water is a public good, with no political or administrative intention to transfer control, or pricing to private entities.

Any private sector involvement, the WDD assured, is limited strictly to the construction or operation of specific technical projects through public procurement contracts and under full state supervision.

Responding to public debate over desalination and water costs, the WDD said no existing or planned desalination unit is permitted to set prices or independently dispose of water.

All such facilities operate within the national water security plan, while the desalination unit at Mazotos was described as ‘a temporary measure to boost supply rather than a form of privatisation’.

The department warned that the 2024–2025 hydrological year recorded rainfall at around 65 per cent of the broader average, placing it among the eight driest years since 1901.

With low reservoir inflows and sustained pressure on groundwater, 2026 is forecast to be a year of elevated water risk unless substantial rainfall occurs.

Agriculture and food security remain central to national water policy, the WDD asserted, with desalination and storage projects designed to support worsening climate conditions.

It added that allocations to golf courses from government irrigation systems accounted for just 0.7 per cent of total irrigation water in 2025 and did not reduce supplies to farmers.

Looking ahead, the department pointed to more than €1 billion in planned investments under the national water works programme through to 2035, alongside demand management measures aimed at cutting consumption by at least 10 per cent in 2026.