The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) has confirmed that the pulp mills above the Abrantes dam on the river Tagus have been responsible for the pollution that a week ago, carpeted the river in a layer of foam.The APA held a press conference today during which its president explained that recent analyses of the polluted water showed high organic content (cellulose) that was not related to urban waste water, nor to the agricultural or livestock industries.
The water samples showed that cellulose levels were 5,000 times above the recommended levels and that the accumulation of this organic mush originated from the pulp factories upstream of Abrantes.
“This has had a significant impact on the quality of the water of the Tagus River," understated Nuno Lacasta, president of APA, stopping short of saying which factories were responsible for the foam incident but, as Celtejo is responsible for 90% of the discharges into the Tagus, it is clear that this company largely is responsible.
Celtejo already has been ordered to reduce its effluent discharges by 50% for a period of 10 days and on February 5th, new water analyses will reveal the results of this action and whether it should be extended - also whether other companies should have similar restrictions imposed.
Altri, the owner of Celtejo, has made no press statement but another processor, Navigator, said that its paper mill in Vila Velha de Ródão "scrupulously complies with the environmental parameters defined by the authorities, specifically for the entire year 2017 and 2018 it registered values confirmed by independent laboratories that were manifestly inferior to those defined in the environmental licence."
Navigator has its own waste treatment facility and said that, "no abnormal situations were recorded during the month of January."
Celtejo had to build an Industrial Wastewater Treatment Station (ETARI), according to APA’s Nuno Lacasta, but this has only been in operation since the end of 2017 and even now receives only part of the effluent that needs treatment.
APA is keen to show its monitoring has been increased since the water level of the Tagus fell and the percentage of effluent consequently rose.
The agency also has been monitoring the discharge from the ETARI into the river Tagus, a river affected by drought, high temperatures and low 2017 rainfall, all of which have led to low water flow and a reduction in the river’s capacity to dilute urban, industrial and agricultural effluents.
Since November last year, sampling has been done every two days and, more recently, every day, assures Lacasta, making it clear that whether or not factories have breached their discharge limits, the ability of the river to dilute their industrial effluent has changed, with even legal discharges exceeding the river's capacity to cope.
This situation, albeit predictable, led to a revision of the regulatory framework, which Nuno Lacasta says will be ready “at the end of February,” when all licenses will be reviewed, regardless of the end-date of the contract.
The formation of foam near the Abrantes reservoir is indicative of a high concentration of organic matter and analyses carried out by APA, in conjunction with the Instituto Superior de Agronomía, revealed oxygen deficiency and phosphorus concentrations way above what the river can cope with.
This excess promotes the growth of bacteria that consume the dissolved oxygen - without sufficient oxygen, fish and other aquatic animals die, a situation that no longer can be ignored by Portugal's environment agency.
