The Polis Litoral Ria Formosa company, in charge of the Ria Formosa islands and environs, has authorised the dredging of sand from Armona and dumped it on Cavacos beach on the mainland some 3 kilometres away.
This has had two effects. Firstly, the residents of Armona island that live near to the dredging works are now even more likely to be categorised as ‘at risk’ as the sea is even closer to their island homes. This ‘too close to the sea’ argument is one of the arsenal used by the government to try and get rid of properties and people to return the island to their natural state.
Mysteriously, the silted up Ria Formosa channels and sandbanks that are really dangerous and that need urgent intervention, have been left alone.
Secondly, the foul-smelling grey sand and maritime organic matter dumped on the beach at Cavacos means the area in not useable this summer and that highly protected shoreline plants have been suffocated.
The replacement president at Polis Ria Formosa agrees that the dumped sand smells pretty bad and that the work is late in being done. José Pacheco blames the timing on the Ria Formosa islanders’ old enemy, Sebastião ‘demolition man’ Teixeira, who despite being sacked from Polis, retained his well-padded position as the head of the region’s environmental agency which tells Polis what to do.
The Mayor of Olhão, Antónia Pina, confirmed that the grey, evil-smelling sand that has been dumped on one of the municipality’s beach just as the holiday season starts, is from the Armona dredging last week and that the work is being directed by Polis. Pina is on the board of Polis and endeavours to “find out more.”
The beach where this sludge has been dumped, Praia dos Cavacos or Marim, is part of the Ria Formosa Natural Park, is under the jurisdiction of the Institute for Nature and Wildlife (ICNF) and is protected by Decree-Laws nº 373/87 and 45/78, according to the Olhão Livre blog which adds that this level of protection for flora and fauna is as tough as it gets.
Another concern is that the IPMA has classified the waters of the nearby nursery beds off Cavacos beach as unfit from which to harvest shellfish due to high levels of E. coli in the water. This threat, added to the run-off from the new sludge, will make the beach and bathing waters a health risk as well as leaving the beach as an unsightly mess.
Olhão Livre, always adept at linking seemingly disparate strands to reach a correct conclusion, smells a rat in the pile of sludge.
At a recent International Real Estate Fair, in which Olhão’s mayor was keen to represent the municipality, an urban development was being promoted for Aldeia de Marim which appears to have Olhão council's approval even though the development's authorisation may be based on shaky legal ground.
The proximity of this development to the sludge beach, (the sand will become clean as time goes by), makes it an excellent investment as the new beach should add value to the nearby development.
Whether or not such a sly agreement exists, the sand did come from an illogical place and was dumped at the wrong time of year.
The conclusion must be that it is business as usual at Polis and at the regional environmental agency.
Piles of evil-smelling sandy dredgings at Cavacos beach
