Bloco de Esquerda (BE) questioned the government about the discharge of effluents into the Cávado River from the Barcelos WWTP.
As O MINHO reported, last week a discharge of effluents at the WWTP in Vila Frescainha S. Pedro was reported by a video posted on social media.
BE points out that “the seriousness of the impacts caused on the fauna, flora and habitats of that fluvial system” is unknown.
Citing the statements of Águas de Barcelos (AdB), holder of the water and sanitation concession in that municipality, O MINHO, the party emphasizes that “the concessionaire has not denied the environmental impact of the discharge, wishing it to be ‘as small as possible’”.
“In order to take responsibility for the negative effects of its management of wastewater treatment in the municipality, the company stated that ‘the WWTP in Barcelos has a strong industrial component, the result of a consumer society and we cannot deny the impact that societies have ‘, ”say the blockers.
BE “considers it unacceptable for the AdB company to take no responsibility for the negative effects that its management of the WWTP in Vila Frescainha de S. Pedro causes on the Cávado River”.
Highlighting that the company recognizes that the WWTP limit “is being reached”, which is why it is necessary to invest in the station to increase and improve the wastewater treatment capacity, the party states that, “with a ruinous concession contract in force for the residents of Barcelos – but very profitable for the concessionaire – it is not understood why the company does not proceed with the necessary investments to remodel the WWTP ”.
“Recurrent pollution calls into question the ecological integrity of the Cávado River and its environmental values. Furthermore, the river is used by the population for the practice of recreational and leisure activities, such as canoeing and bathing. In this sense, polluting discharges in the Cávado River pose serious public health risks ”, adds BE, who argues that“ it is necessary to determine responsibilities and act in accordance with the law ”.
“In addition, there is the need to permanently eliminate the sources of pollution in the Cávado River, proceed to clean it up and fully recover the river’s biodiversity, allowing the population to enjoy a healthy environment”, he adds.
Video shared by Eduardo Araújo in the group Barca- Associação Amigos do Cávado
That said, BE asked the government if it is aware of the effluent discharge from the WWTP in Vila Frescainha de S. Pedro, Barcelos, which occurred on July 6; and if so, what were the environmental impacts of the discharge.
The Bloc also wants to know if “the Nature and Environment Protection Service (SEPNA) of GNR, the General Inspection of Agriculture, Sea, Environment and Spatial Planning (IGAMAOT), the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA ), or other competent entities have been notified of effluent discharge ”.
Among other questions, the party asks how often samples are collected, ecological and chemical analyzes are carried out and the measures the Government plans to take to prevent polluting discharges from recurring in the Cávado River.
PAN questions Barcelos Chamber
The same issue led the PAN to question the Chamber of Barcelos about the measures it intends to take to identify the offenders and prevent these discharges.
In addition to the WWTP discharge, the PAN mentions “a series of other complaints that expose another illegal discharge, allegedly by private industries”.
“Let us not forget that there are several river beaches along the Cávado River, some of them close to these discharge sites and we do not think that the population, knowing this situation, would enjoy these spaces, not least because we are facing something that puts public health in question. , in addition to the harmful impacts on the environment that result. So it would be important, until they solved this problem, to put warnings to the population about the true state of the water, ”says Rafael Pinto, a district spokesman, quoted in a press release.
Questioned by O MINHO, AdB said that “the WWTP has been operating normally as it always has. The visual impact of the discharge has always been significant, since 20,000 m3 of effluent is discharged into the Cávado River per day. That is, 830,000 liters of treated effluent are discharged per hour ”.
“Unfortunately, the visual impact of the discharge is real, but the important thing is that the environmental impact is as small as possible,” said the company.
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