2025 Report on State of Azorean Streams reveals positive developments, says Alonso Miguel

March 27, 2026

The Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Action, Alonso Miguel, chaired today’s public presentation of the Report on the State of Azorean Streams (RERA) for 2025 at the Luís da Silva Ribeiro Public Library and Regional Archive in Angra do Heroísmo.

On this occasion, Alonso Miguel highlighted the role of RERA as “a strategic tool of great importance for monitoring and planning interventions involving the desilting, cleaning, maintenance and rehabilitation of streams."

The government official pointed out that “due to the geographical location and characteristics of the Azores as an archipelago, the climate change effects have been felt with increasing intensity on the islands, particularly in terms of the frequency and intensity with which certain extreme weather events occur.” This can “jeopardise people’s safety, cause substantial material and financial damage, in addition to the negative effects they have on ecosystems andsectors of enormous importance to regional development."

In this regard, he emphasised that “clear and well-maintained watercourses, combined with good environmental practices on the part of the local population, are key factors in reducing the risk of flooding, landslides and other hazards, making a decisive contribution to safeguarding the population and preventing significant material and financial losses.”

The Secretary for the Environment and Climate Action highlighted that the RERA “contributes to the identification, classification and prioritisation of interventions along watercourses, based on the urgency, severity and type of incident.” According to him, it is an essential management tool, "given the vast extent of the Regional Hydrographic Network, which exceeds 7,000 km and includes a further 727 hydrographic basins."

The Regional Secretary stated that the work being done under RERA is fundamental to the planning of regular maintenance actions on sections of watercourses, either carried out by teams from the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action or outsourced to external service providers.

"The report presented is the result of an extensive technical and operational work, involving more than 60 staff members from the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Action. This allowed us to cover, throughout 2025, a very significant stretch exceeding 550 km of watercourses and to make 485 records, including new surveys and status assessments, which, overall, covered 168 distinct hydrographic basins,” he added.

Alonso Miguel noted that “the data collected shows an overall positive trend, with a reduction in the number of incidents across the entire Region, from 301 recorded in 2024 to 243,” revealing that “São Miguel was the island with the highest number of incidents, 176, followed by Pico, with 22, Terceira, with 15, and Faial, with 12 incidents.”

The Regional Secretary also highlighted “the decrease in the number of incidents recorded across the archipelago, except São Miguel and Pico,” highlighting a significant reduction on Terceira, from 36 to 15 incidents, and, above all, on Graciosa, where there were only eight incidents in 2025, in contrast to the 42 incidents registered in 2024.”

Alonso Miguel also highlighted the decrease in the severity of incidents, noting that “the two most severe categories account for only about 10% of all incidents, whereas in 2024 they accounted for 21%,” which demonstrates “a significant improvement in the overall condition of watercourses.”

“In terms of type, the silting of stream sections remains the most frequent occurrence, accounting for around 29% of the total, followed by landslides, which account for approximately 24% of incidents,” he added.

The government official also described  “the further reduction in the number of incidents involving the dumping of waste in streams, from 22 incidents in 2024 to just 12 in 2025,” as “a very positive development” that reflects “the positive progress that has been made in the Region in raising public awareness of the importance of environmental conservation.”

The Regional Secretary noted “that the positive and encouraging results achieved in 2025 stem from the development of a coherent and consistent set of public policies in the Region, pursued by the Regional Government as well as by Municipal Councils, Parish Councils and other public bodies. The Region has also benefited from the commitment shown by businesses, organisations and, individually, by the Azorean population."

He stressed: “In addition to the efforts undertaken in the Region in the areas of environmental education and awareness-raising, the Regional Government’s commitment to significantly increasing funding for the Eco-Parish Programme has also borne fruit, further empowering Parish Councils to collaborate with the Regional Government on the cleaning and maintenance of our watercourses.”

From an operational standpoint, he highlighted the “significant increase in resources, with the hiring of another 18 staff members for the operational teams and the expansion of the Nature Rangers Corps, a key asset for monitoring and inspecting watercourses and bodies of water.” The government official also noted an investment of over €1.5 million made to enhance the capabilities of operational and technical teams, specifically in training and procurement of vehicles, personal protective equipment, machinery and drones.

The Regional Secretary mentioned a series of structural measures, namely “the various works to upgrade the hydrographic network, the creation of risk maps for climate change mitigation and adaptation, representing an investment of €3.7 million, the revision of the Azores Flood Risk Management Plan, and the implementation of a flood warning system, for which an international tender will be launched in 2026, with an estimated investment of €1.5 million.”

"The Regional Government has been firmly committed to this issue, having increased the human, material and financial resources allocated to the cleaning, maintenance and restoration of our watercourses. With all these investments and this commitment, we expect to see even more significant improvements in RERA over the coming years," he concluded.