The AdCL has chosen not to comment at this time.
In an email sent to several entities, Alexandre Tavares stated that the company “has no evidence that the new closure of Praia da Vieira,” in the Marinha Grande municipality, this afternoon, “is correlated with any malfunction or limitations in the pumping and transportation system for sanitation or treatment at the Coimbrão waste treatment plant,” in the municipality of Leiria.
However, there was a “manipulation of the automaton” at the Passagem lift station in Vieira de Leiria, Marinha Grande, on Monday, which was reported to the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) “in compliance with best practices, and this cannot be excluded as a potential, albeit minor, contributor to the biological contamination levels found.”
Alexandre Tavares assured that AdCL is “investigating any potential causality linking these events by conducting a new monitoring campaign.”
“In order to preserve the good name of Águas do Centro Litoral, SA, as a company providing an essential service and mission, the chairman of the Board of Directors resigns,” wrote Alexandre Tavares, who made himself available “to ascertain the facts, however insignificant they may be, regarding the cause of this closure.”
Alexandre Tavares’ resignation comes about two weeks after a malfunction at the Monte Real lift station (Leiria), which led to the discharge of thousands of cubic meters of untreated effluents into the river Lis and irrigation channels.
This incident, on August 12, resulted in the ban on swimming at Praia da Vieira, where the Lis river flows into, and the Municipality of Leiria advised against activities in the downstream section of the Lis River from Monte Real, such as water collection for irrigation, swimming, and fishing.
The malfunction was resolved in the early hours of August 14.
The APA estimated that between 20,000 and 25,000 cubic meters of raw sewage were released into the Lis River, according to its president, Pimenta Machado, who described the accident as “serious, with serious implications,” for the Lis River and Praia da Vieira.
Alexandre Tavares was elected chairman of the board of directors of AdCL in July 2019.
Águas do Centro Litoral has the 30-year concession, until 2045, for the operation and management of the Multimunicipal Water Supply and Sanitation System for Central Coastal Portugal.
Established in 2015, this company is a partnership with Águas de Portugal, SGPS, SA and 29 municipalities across the districts of Aveiro, Coimbra, Leiria, Porto, and Santarém, serving a geographical area of 5,485 square kilometers.
“The Multimunicipal Water Supply and Sanitation System for Central Coastal Portugal includes the capture, treatment, and supply of water for public consumption, as well as the collection, treatment, and disposal of domestic and urban effluents, and the reception of effluents from septic tank cleaning,” according to the company’s website.
