Sanitation

Only from the last quarter of the 19th century did the sanitation of the city of Funchal – particularly the supply of drinking water and the laying of sewers – truly receive from the municipal council sessions the attention that the matter urgently demanded. A ministerial order (portaria) of 22 March 1897 instructed the Directorate of District Public Works (Obras Públicas Distritais) to carry out the studies needed for the supply of drinking water and the laying of sewers, and the law of 16 September of that year authorised the government to assist with the construction work. These two studies were carried out by the distinguished engineers Adriano Trigo and Aníbal Trigo, and earned the praise and full approval of the higher authorities. The study dealing specifically with the sewers was regarded as a valuable piece of work, and it has been of great help and a useful lesson for the works carried out later. It was published as a pamphlet of 95 pages. These important improvements, which form the chief foundation of public hygiene, have continued to be carried out, as the reputation our land enjoys as a privileged health resort requires. The most recent municipal council sessions have devoted the most careful attention to this important and pressing matter, to the general applause of all the townspeople.

The articles Water Supply and Levadas provide some essential further information on this subject.