The mayor of Leiria, Gonçalo Lopes, announced today that the initiative involved removing “hundreds of dead fish from the river” since nothing had been done in that area after the discharge incident. The operation was initiated by local councils of Vieira de Leiria and Monte Redondo e Carreira, along with civil protection and numerous volunteers.
Gonçalo Lopes highlighted a critical environmental issue affecting that stretch of the river, affecting a fishing zone now devoid of fish. He urged for a surface cleaning operation, especially aimed at potentially contaminated riverbed soils. There must be an investment plan initiated by the entity responsible for the environmental damage, Águas de Centro Litoral (AdCl).
A meeting is scheduled for Tuesday with government officials, municipality representatives, and AdCL to outline short and medium-term actions. “We demand an intervention to restore the environmental damage. The population is extremely outraged,” Lopes emphasized, noting that little has been done post-system restoration.
The company should have taken charge of fish removal, according to Lopes, who stated that Saturday’s action aimed at surface removal; however, more dead fish are expected at the riverbed and along the banks. He clarified that municipalities lack the resources, such as boats and machinery, to handle the intervention, and it must be carried out by the company using specialized services.
The GNR is investigating the pollution in the Lis River after a malfunction at the pumping station necessitated effluent discharges. Captain Daniel Matos of the Leiria Territorial Command noted the situation severely impacts local fauna and flora, with evidence of dead fish.
The public company Águas de Centro Litoral (AdCL) disclosed that the Monte Real (Leiria) station is temporarily out of operation due to pump malfunctions affecting the wastewater treatment facility at Coimbrão. Consequently, emergency discharge systems were activated, impacting the Lis River and an adjacent irrigation ditch.
The company assured that all necessary measures were in progress to address the issue swiftly. This led to the prohibition of swimming at Praia da Vieira, where the Lis River flows into, while the municipality of Leiria advised against activities downstream of Monte Real, including irrigation, swimming, and fishing.
In his remarks, Lopes noted that the beach reopened on Saturday, but cautioned that the river remains polluted and tidal changes could bring pollution back to Praia da Vieira. “Such interventions are crucial as tides could bring pollution and dead fish to the beach, seriously affecting tourism,” Lopes underlined.
