Report on visit to the Museu da Água at the Barbadinhos Steam Pumping Station

On Saturday 14 March 2026, 25 members and guests gathered at the museum of the Empresa Pública das Águas Livres (EPAL) in Lisbon to be guided around the museum, the pumping equipment, and the steam engines of the former Barbadinhos pumping station by Tiago Nuno  Ramos from the Water Museum board and EPAL’s Historical Heritage department.

Tiago began by pointing out that Lisbon had always experienced difficulties with its water supply. The Tagus is, of course, tidal at Lisbon and could not be used as a source. Storage of water after rainfall was difficult because the western part of the city is built on limestone, which is porous. The Romans constructed a dam at Belas in Sintra municipality, fed by the Sintra hills, and an aqueduct to supply Olissipo, as Lisbon then was, but this was destroyed by the Barbarians in the 5^th century. It was not until 1731 that construction of the Águas Livres aqueduct began, to take water from Mãe de Água Velha in Belas to Lisbon, broadly following the route of the Roman aqueduct. However, the new system did not just rely on this source as it also obtained water from about 77 underground sources along the 58km route.

The aqueduct was built with earthquakes in mind and Tiago highlighted the design features that meant it remained standing during the 1755 earthquake, including the iconic pointed middle arches. It supplied 42 fountains: Galician water carriers filled barrels and went round the city selling it. However, by the mid-19^th century the Águas Livres water was no longer sufficient. In particular, it was clear that the sewerage system needed to be improved. Fontes Pereira de Melo, an engineer, minister of public works and, later, prime minister, calculated that, on average, each person produced 250g of solid waste a day, which would require 7- 10 litres of water per person a day to wash it down the drains. A new 114km aqueduct was built between 1871 and 1880 to transport water collected from the Olhos de Água sources on the Alviela river. Louis-Charles Mary, who had worked on the Paris water supply, developed a system to take water from a reservoir next to the pumping station and then distribute it around the city. 

This meant that 18 litres per capita became available. A map of that system is displayed on the museum wall (above), as is one of the pre-1880 system, and of the present system, which obtains its water from the Castelo do Bode reservoir on the River Zêzere, from Valada on the River Tagus, and from groundwater sources in Alenquer, Lezírias and Ota. Present supplies are more than adequate and EPAL even sells water to surrounding municipalities.

The museum is situated in the former boiler room (photo above), the boilers having been dismantled in 1958 to make space for the museum, which also occupies the former coal deposit area. We then moved on to the pumping equipment, which has all been preserved. Tiago gave a detailed description of how the pumps worked: three of the four machines could pump water to a height of 30 metres, while the fourth could lift it by 70 metres. With these pumps in place, Lisbon could begin to supply fresh water to residences and businesses and install a sewerage system.

On the floor above the pumps is the machine room, containing the four original steam engines which, powered by the boilers, drove the pumps. These could handle 30,000 cubic metres of water a day and pass it through a filtration system before sending it to the city through a network of seven more reservoirs. The four steam engines (below) were made by E. Windsor & Fils from Rouen, Normandy (also referred to as Ateliers Windsor). Two earlier Windsor steam engines had also been installed in 1868 as part of a water pumping station at the Largo do Chafariz de Dentro. The Windsors, who also supplied the pumping equipment, were one of the many British companies that moved to France in the 19^th-century.

An interesting aspect of the pumping station that Tiago informed us about was that the equipment was installed after the basic frame of the building had been completed. Only after the engines, pumping and boiler equipment were in position was the building completed, because the designers were not exactly sure how the disposition of the equipment would turn out.

Although there are no longer any steam boilers, one is now powered by electricity. The highlight of any group tour is to see the boiler working.   Click on this link to see the video.

The visit was much enjoyed by all. Thanks to Tiago for guiding us around and for his efforts to create awareness of Portugal’s (and Britain’s) industrial heritage.