In the waters of the As Conchas reservoir the cyanobacteria proliferate, a microorganism that has an impact on the environment -a lack of oxygen -, aquatic organisms and the human being, for whose health the associated toxins are a risk. They are a threat known in the stagnant waters and in this dam, located in the Ourensana region of A Baixa Limia, it is recurrent. Seven residents of the town that bears the same name, belonging to the municipality of Lobeira, have sued public administrations for not preventing contamination from intensive pigs of pigs and chickens behind this problem. Together with them, the denunciation of the Association of Neighbors and the Federation of Consumers and Users (CECU), supported by Friends of the Earth and Customer.
The lawsuit is directed against the Xunta de Galicia, as responsible for agriculture, livestock and environmental management; against the Miño-Sil Hydrographic Confederation, responsible for water resources; and the municipalities of Bandea, Lobeira, Trasmira, Os White and Muíños, located around the As Conchas reservoir and in charge of the supply of drinking water and the treatment of wastewater.
The demand ensures that the contamination of the waters of As Conchas has its origin in the activity of intensive breeding of pigs and avian. They accuse public administrations of allowing it without taking into account the impact on neighbors and violating their fundamental rights to the protection of health and well -being. In A Limia there are hundreds of livestock farms and affected residents claim that the effects on their rights are decisive in the evaluation of this type of farms to allow or reject them.
The living conditions in the area, they point out, have deteriorated, and the population is exposed to risks to their health, it has to endure strong smells and fear consuming water from the wells. The neighbors state that, despite their complaints, the regional government and the authorities have not acted to prevent pollution, so they have chosen to take the case before the Superior Court of Xustiza de Galicia.
Pablo Álvarez is the president of the Neighborhood Association and one of the plaintiffs. It highlights the concern of the residents in the area for the state of the reservoir: “Like many of those who live in As Conchas, I am afraid to drink water from our wells.” The same idea of walking next to the reservoir, he says, finds it “unthinkable.” He criticizes that, instead of alerting real pollution, local authorities “argue that water is in good condition” and ensure that children can bathe. No signal, protest, warns of toxicity.
It accuses public administrations of indifference and inactivity: “We have talked many times about these issues with regional and local governments directly, but we have the feeling that they do not listen to us.” In demand, they argue that the level of nitrates is very high and this is a risk for various types of cancer. There are also antibiotic resistant bacteria, adds the text.
Another neighbor, Mercedes Álvarez, who also signs the demand, reports that she moved to As Conchas four decades ago and opened there, next to the reservoir, a business. “I have seen how the area has changed to worse. In the hottest months of the year, we are even afraid to open the windows to cool the house, because that is when the reservoir stench becomes more unbearable,” he says. She relates her strong headaches to the poor state of the waters. In summer they intensify and become more frequent and doctors have not found the cause: “I think it is due to this pollution.”
Nieves Noval, a client lawyer (one of the NGOs that supports the case), states that the Spanish Constitution and European legislation establish that the authorities have the obligation to protect citizens and consider that, in the case of As Conchas, they fail to comply: “despite being fully aware of the real impact that industrial livestock exerts on the area, they continue to authorize these farms permissively and reiterated.” “Families who carry several generations in As Conchas have seen how their home has become a landfill. This cannot continue like this,” he adds.
In the same sense, Blanca Ruibal, representative of Friends of the Earth, points out that the reservoir should be an area of enjoyment, but “it has become a stercolero.” “You cannot allow an entire community to be suffering the consequences of pollution by industrial livestock due to the lack of control of administrations.” Ask for a plan to reduce industrial livestock and bet on the most sustainable model and forms of production. David Sánchez, director of CECU, emphasizes the uneasiness of the neighbors with respect to the water that comes out of their taps. They have to resort to supply by tank trucks and bottled water, something that considers that “it is not acceptable.”
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