Faro Council today denied that Ribeira das Lavadeeiras, near the N125 at city exit to Olhão, was an 'open sewer,' saying that the river discharges "clear water."
The municipality was responding to yesterday’s alert from the opposition party which said the area was nothing but an "open sewer" and demanded the intervention of the Ministry of Environment to resolve the situation with the council.
"The municipality of Faro does not have open sewers running into the Ria Formosa, anywhere in the municipality," said the council in a statement today.
According to the council’s experts, at the site in question "it appears that there is an outflow of the public stormwater drainage system which is functioning well and discharging clear water."
Any smell that this water may have may, explains the council, must be from the stagnation of the water, "which is unrelated to the operation of the network."
The council led by Rogerio Bacalhau admitted that in the past there had been "episodically" an intrusion of domestic wastewater into the stormwater runoff but the situation had been rectified and was "fully resolved" in 2013.
"The council assures the public that Faro council is respectful and observant of environmental quality standards required by law in the capital of the Ria Formosa area," the statement concluded.
The socialists yesterday claimed 'The river, far from being clean has been transformed into a sea of sewage, garbage and stench, running above ground straight into the Ria Formosa natural area.' The image is clearly one of 'environmental neglect' and at the Ribeira das Lavadeiras 'the council executive has no excuse after five years in power in the municipality. This shows a laxity in tackling environmental problems and an insensitivity to the appeals of the public over environmental issues.'
