A national reference, the program closely monitors the recovery of the Doce river basin
Monitoring the health of the water in more than 900 kilometers of rivers, lakes, coastal and estuarine areas is a major challenge that involves effort and research. Such dedication has made the Quali-Quantitative Systematic Monitoring Program (PMQQS), which completed five years on July 31, one of the largest water monitoring programs in Brazil.
To achieve this result, there was a lot of teamwork before PMQQS was even born. Bianca Menezes Lima Cardoso, a Water Monitoring technician, who has been collecting data on water quality since the emergency period, says that talking about the program is like talking about a good son who adds knowledge, challenges, struggles and achievements. “I saw the PMQQS being born, being structured every year, generating millions of data and being a subsidy for various decision-making within the Renova Foundation. Looking back, I see that the path was arduous, but with great victories and achievements!”
What is the result of all this?
The Doce River is recovering, that is, the water quality indices have returned to the conditions prior to the collapse. The specialist in Water Monitoring, Fernanda Caliman Passamani, who has been on the team since the beginning of the Program, explains that the results are closely monitored. “To guarantee the reliability of these data, we have a very careful quality control and assurance program that was built in conjunction with the environmental agencies involved. The PMQQS data can be consulted by the entire society through the Doce River Monitoring Portal.”
Get to know the agencies Fernanda Caliman refers to and which support the monitoring carried out by the Renova Foundation:
- National Agency for Water and Basic Sanitation (ANA);
- Brazilian Institute of Environment and Natural Renewable Resources (Ibama);
- Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conversation (ICMBio);
- State Water Management Institute of Minas Gerais (IGAM);
- State Water Resources Agency of Espirito Santo (Agerh);
- State Institute for the Environment and Water Resources (IEMA).
Can the water be consumed?
After undergoing treatment in public supply systems, the water from the Rio Doce can be consumed. The mission of clarifying the population that uses water is one of the activities of Henrique Filgueiras, senior analyst of Water Monitoring.
“Having a connection with the Doce River for many years and having demonstrated the necessary skills, I also became a spokesperson for the Program at meetings with the communities. It started with occasional meetings, always mediated by the Dialogue teams, and it took shape, demand grew and the Program developed new ways to be able to disseminate its actions and the results produced. It is a pleasure to be able to talk to people and tell and show what we have done for Doce.”
Other actions are carried out to inform the community about water quality. One of them is the Doce Alive Project, which makes presentations in schools, clarifies the impacted communities, residents’ associations, fishermen, affected committees, riverside dwellers, rural landowners, about the use of the resource and how monitoring works. In Aracruz, Espírito Santo, leaders from the Barra do Riacho community participate in a pilot initiative focused on monitoring actions in the Doce River basin. Started in May, on the Riacho and Piraquê-açu rivers, the activity aims to promote the participation of residents in collecting data on the quality of water and sediments.
Understand how the Doce River is recovering, after the Fundao dam collapse, and the development of a comprehensive watercourse monitoring system.
Follow the monitoring results also through PMQQS Weekly and Monthly Water Quality Bulletins and through the Doce River Monitoring Portal.