Environmental association Zero warned this Friday of deteriorating water quality on beaches this bathing season, revealing 28 have already been banned and dozens have already been inappropriate or banned from swimming.
In a statement, Zero explains that they evaluated the bathing water quality results for the current season provided by the National Water Information System and compared them with the same time period in 2022.
Even though the analysis is pushed back a week this year, the problems are “already more significant,” says Zero.
According to the association, there are currently 658 bathing spots, “with a limited number of beaches having problems, but more significant than last bathing season.”
“The advice against swimming or a ban on swimming, even for a short period of time, affected 29 beaches, up seven more than in the same period last year,” says Zero.
In these bathing areas, according to the association, the analyzes “beyond the limits technically set at the national level” for at least one of the two microbiological parameters assessed (E. coli and E. coli).
Twenty-eight beaches have already been banned, also seven more than last bathing season, “mainly due to poor water quality,” including “incidents of beach clean-up work or the risk of rock instability.”
Zero also adds that 22 beaches have a ban signal in the Information System, although the reasons are not given, and in the case of another six, “it was widely reported only in the media.”
The bathing waters that represented the most situations where the water was unsuitable for bathing were in Funchal: Poças do Gomes — Doca do Cavacas and Gorgulho, represented three situations where bathing was discouraged or prohibited, “despite the fact that Apparently there was no ban. was formalized.”
There are also four beaches in Albufeira (Galé Leste, Gale Ouest, Inatel Albufeira and Pescadores) and one beach in each of the municipalities of Aljezur (Amoreira-Rio), Cascais (Duquesa), Matosinhos (Matosinhos) and Porto. (Castelo do Queijo) presented two situations each with the advice or the ban on swimming.
Albufeira, according to Zero, is the municipality in the country with the most beaches affected by poor quality and/or closures, with seven beaches.
Inland beaches are proportionately more affected, according to Zero, who calls for the need to investigate the causes and prevent pollution above all, with 11% of inland bathing waters and 5% of coastal or transitional bathing waters affected.
According to the environmental association, many of the bathing areas that have been recommended or banned during the current bathing season “have an excellent classification and therefore must be sporadic episodes, which in the context of the legislation may not even compromise their quality. but the causes of which must be duly investigated.”
Zero denounces the shortcomings in the information available on the website of the Portuguese Environmental Protection Agency, “considering that the reasons for the banning of bathing areas and procedures by regional health delegates are not always properly explained.”
According to Zero, the APA’s page on sharing tips and no-swimming “represents an improvement in communication efforts, but is inconsistent with data from the Water Resources Information System.”
“In addition, 41 bathing waters (6.2% of the total) are without test results,” the note says.
None of the 54 beaches categorized by the association as “Zero Pollution Beach” – swimming areas that have not been found to be polluted in analyzes conducted over the past three swimming seasons – have been banned due to poor water quality or for lack of recommendations or prohibitions. bathing, according to the association.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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