Paper Mill’s Unpublished Repairs on Baixo Mondego Canal Raise Flood and Cost Fears

The Portugal Environment Agency (APA) has again refused to reveal under what rules paper-maker Navigator keeps repairing the Baixo Mondego irrigation canal, a silence that leaves taxpayers guessing who is really footing the bill every time floodwaters punch holes in the 1970s infrastructure.

Why This Matters

• Possible hidden costs – Recurrent emergency works have already crossed the €150 000 mark once; no one knows the current tab.

• Food-chain risk – The canal feeds 12 000 ha of rice and corn fields and supplies Figueira da Foz’s drinking water system.

• Industrial dependency – Navigator’s Lavos mill relies on the flow to keep 3 paper machines spinning, safeguarding 1 400 direct jobs.

• Legal grey zone – A public hydraulic asset is being serviced by a private firm with no publicly disclosed contract.

From Livelihood to Liability

Built when analog telephones were still a novelty, the Mondego hydraulic scheme was meant to protect Coimbra from floods and guarantee irrigation. Five decades later, heavier rainfall and subsidence have turned the channel into a punctured hose. In the last 48 hours alone, two new breaches on the right bank forced water managers to divert the river through farmland—again.

How We Landed in a Contract Fog

According to several mayors and farm cooperatives, Navigator has been stepping in “for as long as anyone can remember.” The company’s own pumps at Foja lift station were allegedly switched on this week to push water back into the canal and keep its factory wet-supplied. Each time journalists ask what formal arrangement legitimises the move, APA president Pimenta Machado stays tight-lipped. The agency’s line of defence: emergency first, paperwork later.

Money on the Table – But Whose Money?

The sole concrete figure on record is a 2019 post-flood repair: €150 000 paid upfront by Navigator. A previous 2014 plan, priced at €2.5 M, was rejected by the Portugal Court of Auditors because the works were “clearly APA’s responsibility.” Since then, neither the Ministry for Environment and Energy nor the company will confirm whether the State reimburses these outlays, or how.

Political Pushback

The Portugal Communist Party (PCP) has filed fresh questions in parliament, calling the arrangement “opaque” and warning that the APA’s chronic understaffing is forcing the State to rely on corporate goodwill. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro responded during a visit to flooded villages, promising a technical audit and a “root-and-branch overhaul” of the entire Mondego system before next winter.

Legal Grey Zone Explained

There is an existing Concession Contract (2010) assigning day-to-day irrigation management to the Association of Beneficiaries of the Baixo Mondego Scheme, not to Navigator. Two addenda (2014 and in negotiation for 2024) still leave private industrial interventions uncovered. Until a new clause is published in Diário da República, every repair authorised verbally by the APA rests on tenuous legal footing.

What This Means for Residents

• Homeowners in Coimbra floodplain – Expect continuing flood alerts until permanent fixes raise dike height and reseal the canal.

• Farmers – Budget for possible planting delays; water delivery may be rationed if stop-gap repairs fail.

• Ratepayers – Watch your municipal water bill; if the State is reimbursing Navigator informally, those euros come from general taxation.

• Investors & insurers – The Prime Minister’s forthcoming audit could unlock a multi-million-euro public tender; procurement rules may finally be enforced, creating openings for engineering firms but also compliance risks.

The Road Ahead

Government sources hint that Brussels funds earmarked for climate adaptation could finance a full canal reconstruction—on one condition: transparent public procurement. Until then, locals will keep seeing Navigator’s bulldozers on the levee, the APA will keep dodging microphones, and the Mondego will keep testing the seams of the past.