Águas do Tejo Atlântico, in association with several entities, signed a protocol on Monday aimed at characterizing the wastewater from hospital units, in order to prevent the response to possible disease outbreaks, according to an official source.
In statements to the Lusa news agency, Ana Cisa, administrator of Águas do Tejo Atlântico, said that the protocol is part of the AGIR project (launched last year), which has the technical and financial support of the Environmental Fund for the eradication of inflows industrial waste water, amounting to 4.4 million euros.
According to Ana Cisa, the objective of the protocol is cooperation, the exchange of information, the exchange of knowledge and the realization of specific technical-scientific components, with a view to the characterization of hospital wastewater that flows to WWTPs/Water Plants. of the municipality of Lisbon.
“This action is part of the AGIR plan, which comes into force in the second half of 2026 and this action is chronologically located between 2022 and 2024, with the support of 200,000 euros from the Environmental Fund for the characterization of wastewater and hospital water in Lisbon” , advanced .
The administrator of Águas do Tejo Atlântico said that the project involves 14 hospital units in Lisbon whose water reaches the WWTP in Beirolas, Alcântara and Chelas.
In addition to the hospital units and Águas do Tejo Atlântico, the project involves the Lisbon City Council, the Portuguese Free Water Company (EPAL), the Higher Technical Institute, the General Directorate of Health, the Doctor Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute (INSA) and the Administration Regional Health Service of Lisbon and the Tagus Valley.
“Each one has their skills in terms of laboratory to characterize this hospital wastewater that reaches our WWTPs to establish an epidemiological surveillance system,” he said.
Ana Cisa explained that, during the process, samples will be collected from the hospital units, which will then be characterized in terms of microbiological, toxicity, and medication parameters at the collection and exit points of the water factories.
“We are going to accurately characterize these effluents and from there establish a scientific characterization in order to establish more precise epidemiological surveillance systems,” he stressed. Ana Cisa also said that the results of the study will be presented in 2024.
The Action Plan for the Management of Industrial Wastewater in Greater Lisbon and the West, made official last year, arises from a partnership between 23 municipalities and Águas do Tejo Atlântico.
The 23 municipalities that make up the multi-municipal sanitation system of Greater Lisbon and the West have a support of 4.4 million euros to eradicate the undue influx of industrial wastewater.
The plan aims, according to Águas do Tejo Atlântico, “to improve the operational response capacity of the Water Factories, with a view to reducing environmental risks caused by the undue presence of polluting agents in the treatment process, which it will also promote the training of technicians from municipalities and industries in the field of industrial effluent management”.
The company Águas do Tejo e do Atlântico is responsible for the collection, treatment and disposal of domestic and urban effluents from the municipalities of Alcobaça, Alenquer, Amadora, Arruda dos Vinhos, Azambuja, Bombarral, Cadaval, Caldas da Rainha, Cascais, Lisbon, Loures, Lourinhã, Mafra, Nazaré, Óbidos, Odivelas, Oeiras, Peniche, Rio Maior, Sintra, Sobral de Monte Agraço, Torres Vedras and Vila Franca de Xira.
Source: Observadora
