In a response sent to Lusa news agency regarding reports of water supply outages in the municipality, the council explains that the decision is related to "the various disruptions, strangely identified in recent weeks, in the water supply network of the municipality of Almada, specifically in Costa de Caparica and Monte de Caparica."

"The Almada City Council has asked the Municipal Water and Sanitation Services (SMAS) to open an investigation into the causes of these situations, which we deeply regret and whose effects we have been trying to mitigate," explains the municipality, led by Inês de Medeiros.

On Tuesday, a major rupture in a water main led to water supply interruptions in the areas of Raposo, Lazarim, Costa de Caparica, and Monte de Caparica.

The same thing had happened in early August on a water main near Complementary Route 20 - Via Rápida da Caparica and on a water main, also affecting the cities of Raposo, Lazarim, Costa de Caparica, and Monte de Caparica.

According to the Almada City Hall, "these ruptures, combined with the theft of 400 meters of telecommunications cable in Costa da Caparica last Sunday, and the increasing number of water theft incidents, which significantly affect water management in some areas of the municipality, must be quickly investigated."

Until the conclusions of the investigation, the city hall, in collaboration with the SMAS (Sanitation and Public Health Service), is "committed to working to strengthen surveillance of structures essential to water distribution."