"All restrictions have now been lifted. The latest tests indicate that the water quality has returned to normal," José Carlos Rolo told Lusa news agency.

The city council announced that swimming on several urban beaches in the municipality was banned after contamination was detected following a ruptured sewage pipe.

"To ensure the safety of all swimmers, swimming has been banned on several urban beaches in Albufeira," a statement from the Albufeira City Council stated.

According to the statement, the decision was made after analyses detected the presence of contamination and aims to ensure the safety of all people using these beaches.

The closure was decided after Águas do Algarve reported a "rupture in a DN300 ductile, integrated into the Vale Faro Wastewater Pumping Station (EEAR) pumping pipe."

The situation was detected on Sunday and repair work began immediately afterward, but it did not prevent the water on urban beaches from becoming contaminated.

According to Águas do Algarve, "the incident was caused by progressive internal wear of the material, which led to a complete perforation of the bend wall and consequent loss of the pipeline's structural integrity."