Lawyer
The clean-up of the Ria Formosa
It is not enough to proclaim that Olhão is in fashion, it is necessary and urgent to invest seriously in solving this problem, as it is unacceptable that in the 21st century, domestic sewage should be discharged to the Ria Formosa.
The Ria Formosa is one of the 7 natural wonders of Portugal, with an extension of 60 km along the Algarve coast, between Ancão in the municipality of Loulé and Manta Rota in the municipality of Vila Real de Santo António. It is a rich and complex lagoon system that bathes the entire riverside area of Olhão, being an area protected by the status of Natural Park and has great economic and social importance for Olhão, known as the capital city of Ria Formosa.
The production of bivalves in Ria Formosa represents about 80% of the country’s total exports, and is also one of the places with the greatest tourist potential in the Algarve. However, the full use of its enormous potential requires the preservation of its exceptional natural characteristics, with a major impact on water quality.
Over the years, pollution of the Ria Formosa has been a concern of nurseries who operate 170 nurseries in a huge area in this Ria. Successive city council executives, all from the same party, have been unable to devise a strategy to eliminate outbreaks of pollution.
It is public knowledge and the subject of reports that sewers continue to flow mainly in three locations, in front of the PSP, at Cais T and in front of Bela Olhão. This pollution has prevented nurserymen from working to the detriment of the local economy, the image of the municipality and the city that is to be declared a different destination in the Algarve. It is not enough to proclaim that Olhão is in fashion, it is necessary and urgent to invest seriously in solving this problem, as it is unacceptable that in the 21st century, domestic sewage should be discharged to the Ria Formosa.
The diagnosis has been made for many years, it is known that old and newer buildings have their sewage directly connected to rainwater that in turn discharges into the Ria Formosa. You will have to invest in the search for these illegalities and punish their offenders and make filming using a robot to detect these constructions.
It is up to politicians to define their priorities. Between the option of remodeling a green space and solving this public health problem, I choose the latter option. And what is the option of the current holders of political power in Olhão?