Lack of water monitoring in Douro River ‘puts thousands of swimmers at risk’

A group of environmental associations warned this Saturday that the lack of monitoring and dissemination of microbiological control tests in unclassified waters in various areas of the Douro River “puts thousands of bathers at risk”.

In its statement, #MovRioDouro, a movement made up of citizens and 17 national and regional organisations, questions the oversight of “the criteria that lead to the classification of beaches in river and lake waters as bathing beaches” and calls for “greater transparency”.

The group is asking for the full list of beaches assessed, the reasons for their classification as bathing waters to be disclosed and asks that this information also be submitted to the “public consultation process, rather than just the final proposal for a bathing waters list as is currently the case.”

The movement warns that “the current lack of monitoring and dissemination of microbiological testing results for unclassified waters puts thousands of bathers at risk.”

The text gives examples such as the Zebreiros area in Gondomar and Areinho de Oliveira do Douro in Vila Nova de Gaia, where bathing infrastructure such as bars and bathrooms is available, but this is not possible without adequate information on the quality of the water these infrastructures serve.

“If the waters frequented by thousands of bathers were monitored, we would certainly have clearer information and red flags in most of these places, which would serve as a warning to bathers. This is not happening now, on the contrary. Despite the existence of a small warning from the APA, which does not recommend bathing, municipalities often create conditions for visiting baths,” warns Gustavo Briz in the text on behalf of the movement.

According to #MovRioDouro organizations, including ANP|WWF and ZERO, the Portuguese Environmental Protection Agency (APA) “should disclose during the bathing season the microbiological quality of water in areas with high demand, especially in those where the water has been proven not to have the minimum required quality.”

On the other hand, it is stated that “municipalities should not provide bathing infrastructure without confirmation of water quality for this purpose, as this could lead to the population taking an unknown risk, and the APA itself should provide clear instructions to municipalities in this regard.”

This bathing season, according to #MovRioDouro, in the Portuguese part of the Douro River basin there are six inland bathing areas in Sabugal, four in Mirandela, three in Macedo de Cavaleiros and Vinhais, two in Moimenta da Beira and one in Castro Daire, Freixo de Espada in Cinta, Gondomar, Sernancelle and Valpazos.