The Baião City Council, aware of the geopolitical crisis that is currently being felt in Europe, as a result of the armed conflict in Ukraine, with serious consequences for the European energy system, will implement and reinforce energy saving measures in the county.
At the same time, the situation of severe and prolonged drought across the mainland, which has been experienced in recent months, threatens the sustainability of water resources and has consequences for the production of hydroelectric energy.
This issue was addressed at the last meeting of the Intermunicipal Council, during which the eleven municipalities of the Intermunicipal Community (CIM) of Tâmega e Sousa approved the implementation of a set of energy efficiency measures to reduce energy consumption in the region and, consequently, savings on the energy bill. The measures cover public lighting, management of buildings, monuments, public spaces and municipal equipment, work environment and population awareness.
The decision follows Council of Ministers Resolution No. 82/2022, of September 27, which defines preventive measures to deal with the current situation and possible future disruptions, in order to guarantee the security of the electricity supply. energy.
In this context, the Municipality of Baião, which has been implementing a set of rationalization measures, defined the following water and energy saving measures to be implemented in a phased manner in the municipality, in the short and medium term:
– Turn off decorative outdoor lighting in municipal buildings after midnight;
– Turn off digital billboards after 10 pm;
– Christmas lighting between 18:00 and 23:00;
– Regulation of temperatures and operating hours of indoor air conditioning equipment in municipal buildings;
– Regulation of ambient and water temperature in covered swimming pools, as well as placement of thermal covers to reduce energy and water losses;
– Periodic inspection and correction of the orientation of water devices placed in gardens in order to eliminate water waste;
– Gradual replacement of all exterior and interior lighting in municipal buildings with LED lighting;
– Implementation of more efficient lighting systems through the placement of presence/motion sensors in municipal buildings, including swimming pools and pavilions;
– Gradual replacement of all faucets in municipal buildings with timer faucets and flow-reducing faucets and dual-flush toilets;
– Reinforcement of the investment in projects for the use of renewable energies;
– Promotion of training actions within the scope of the Resource Efficiency Program in Public Administration (ECO.AP 2030), aiming at greater involvement, provision of tools and sensitivity to issues such as resource efficiency, including self-consumption of electricity through energy sources renewable;
– Development, in partnership with SIMDOURO, of a pilot project for the reuse of wastewater treated in the municipality’s WWTPs through the installation of reservoirs, in a phased manner. This stored water will then be used for purposes such as washing floors, washing vehicles, watering, among others, thus avoiding the use of potable water.
– Installation of drip irrigation systems with humidity sensors in future equipment/gardens and/or when replacing systems due to faults;
– Plant trees and shrubs with low watering needs, appropriate to the climate and type of soil, by municipal services;
– Internal awareness-raising of the municipality’s employees and awareness-raising actions for the general population.
In addition to these measures, there are those already implemented by the City Council, such as the total replacement of public lighting with an LED system and various measures to reduce water consumption, through, for example, the reduction of irrigation cycles or irrigation at night, in summer, or installation of pressure reducers by Águas do Norte.
The Mayor, Paulo Pereira, underlines that “the municipality, in line with the certification process of Baião as a Sustainable Destination and with the Sustainable Development Goals, established by the United Nations, understands these measures as a contribution to this purpose that matters to everyone and to which we are all called, that is, in the face of strong signs of scarcity, to guarantee energy sustainability, as well as our water resources.”
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#GreenisthenewDestination.
