José Antonio Quiroga, President of the Minho Sil Hydrographic Federation, and Eladio Santos, Deputy Representative of the Orense Government, appeared this Monday to report on the agency’s actions in the following tasks: Prevention and mitigation of ash fall … river waterway. In this sense, they emphasized that, in Quiroga’s words, this work was carried out “quickly, without waiting, without significant investments and without evading responsibility.”
Santos’ statement was also in part in response to Sunta’s request last week to strengthen coordination with organizations dependent on the Ministry of Ecological Transition, and to hold a meeting to explain how its actions were due to a lack of communication between the administrations. « The Government of Galicia is responsible for forest management before, during and after fires. stop blaming who works And let’s get to work,” Santos said.
The new exchange of accusations about the powers that be, the Sunta River in the mountains and the Union of Waterways in its beds and basins came after several rivers and reservoirs in Ourense and other areas affected by a wave of wildfires in August turned black from mud and other nutrients washed away by rain from the scorched hills.
Nevertheless, the federation president stressed that “now is not the time for political confrontation.” “Citizens are demanding facts and solutions from us; Only by adjusting can the contamination problem be alleviated This is because the ash has flowed into the river channel,” Quiroga added.
Federation activities after the fire
As specified by the Confederation of Mignosir Waterways (CHMS), work to analyze the situation began as soon as the fire was extinguished at the end of August, and in the first week of September the following results were obtained:10 brigades in the river conservation program carry out the most urgent work On the 24th of the same month, Miteco approved an investment of 3 million euros to repair the damage and plan hydropower public land.
Currently, 19 manual brigades are operating on the ground with occasional mechanized support, six of which are in fire-affected areas in the Valdeorras region, prioritizing areas where the fires have significantly reduced vegetation, a natural barrier to this type of damage. serious environmental impact. CHMS then raised barriers and bundles of trunks and branches to stop the transport of sediment, removed plugs and obstructions, burned wood from waterways, and carried out reforestation and afforestation operations in riverside forests.
However, this does not prevent ash, mud, and other nutrients from reaching some rivers and reservoirs; Sometimes the water is cut off Representatives of several town councils in the Valdeoras region. The organization regrets this fact and blames it on “bad weather.”
sunta requests a meeting
Also this Monday, Environment and Climate Change Minister Ángeles Vázquez sent a letter to the federation’s president, asking him to convene a meeting “as soon as possible.” Avoid impact on drinking water supplies At City Hall on fire. The issue was brought to his attention by the affected mayors during a meeting held last Thursday.
“This meeting is also necessary, in addition to the fact that we do not have information about the actions being taken by the Minho Sil coalition,” Vázquez said in the letter, which was obtained by the European Press Agency. He has also written in defense of the actions of the Galician government. toacted “quickly and enthusiastically”he cited measures such as mobilizing 400 volunteers to help with the costs of the fire and to help with recovery efforts.
“In fact, I already addressed you in another letter on August 29, in which I asked you to set a date for holding a meeting. That is, from the first moment we willingness to cooperate“We also make it clear that it is the Minho Sil and Duero Hydrographic Unions that are responsible for protecting the rivers of Ourense department, and in the specific case of Valdeorras, the federations that you chair,” he added to the Minister of the Environment.
About The Author
