The role of Ria Formosa as a waste water receiver

Ria Formosa is a system of barrier islands that communicates with the sea through six inlets, situated in the Algarve, the most southern region of Portugal which encompasses the municipalities of Loulé, Faro, Olhão, Tavira and Vila Real de Santo António, covering an area of about 18,400 hectares along a 60 km stretch from the Ancão beach to Manta Rota beach (Figure 4.1). It is an area protected by the status of Natural Park, granted by Law n. º 373/87 of December 9th and its classified as a sensible area according to the law n.º 152/97 of June 19th concerning urban waste water discharges, in order to assure water quality standards for shellfish aquaculture. This ecosystem is very important from the socio-economic point of view, being responsible for 41% of the Portuguese national production of bivalve shellfish, with a small finfish production (IMAR, 2012).