Four environmental associations appealed to the Minister of the Environment for the “urgency” of an intervention to end the contamination of the Ocreza River, “which is once again extremely polluted”, an episode that they say is repeated annually.
In an open letter to which the Lusa agency, the Movement for the Tagus (proTEJO), the Association for the Development of Sobral Fernando (ADSF), the Ecological Action Movement (MAE) and the Albufeira Defense Platform had access on Tuesday of Santa Águeda / Marateca (PDASA), called on Duarte Cordeiro to take action to end the contamination of the Ocreza River, “which is once again extremely polluted this July, with a level of eutrophication and to flourish of important algaean episode that is repeated year after year”.
“This situation occurs after the discharge of water from the Marateca dam (or Albufeira de Santa Águeda) and, like last year, it was reported to the Service for the Protection of Nature and the Environment -GNR and the Portuguese Environment Agency. Environment-, municipality of Proença-a-Nova, Vila Velha de Ródão and Castelo Branco”, they stressed.
They also added that every time the Marateca dam is discharged, “the water turns green, smells bad, has a high concentration of foam, with bluish areas, a fetid odor and black stools in the upper part of the water, suggestive of the presence of cyanobacteria”.
The entities allege that the enormous discharge they make in the Marateca dam has the objective of maintaining the ecological flow, but this only occurs in a single moment and not with a continuous and permanent flow, this abrupt discharge is strange in the current year of generalized drought what we are going through,” they said.
The environmentalists also highlighted that, in May, PDASA denounced and filed several criminal complaints with the Public Ministry. for “obvious environmental crimes” that affect the Santa Águeda/Marateca reservoirwhose ecological impacts, more evident in terms of pollution, caused the death of fish and some birds, namely, a dead mallard by the water and three storks.
Considering that the contamination of the Santa Águeda/Marateca reservoir and the abrupt discharge of the dam is harming, year after year, the ecological status of the Ocreza River downstream and preventing its use by the riverside populations, the subscribers of the letter asked the Minister of the Environment and Action for the Climate to act in the rehabilitation of the Santa Águeda / Marateca reservoir.
In this context, they proposed the planting of oaks and other native trees in the places where they were felled, the removal of the existing cherry tree near the banks of the reservoir, the opening of the (old) accesses to the water plan that were fenced and special accesses for civil protection emergencies, the provision of public information on what can and cannot be done, and where, in the reserved area of 50 meters around the reservoir and in the water plan.
They also asked the governor to execution of interventions in the reserved area that allow full enjoyment of the reservoir with authorized sports and leisure activities and the review of the Territorial Planning Plan which, according to the Albufeira Territory Planning Plan, should have been carried out in 2015.
“The Minister of the Environment and Climate Action does not agree that it is a shame to have these levels of contamination in the Ocreza River Valley,” they questioned.
Source: Observadora
