Governor of Rio Grande do Sul was rarely questioned about failures in the maintenance of the anti-flood system in the capital of Rio Grande do Sul; it was not asked why there were no engines in the floodgates and why only 4 of 24 suction pumps were working during the flood
The governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite (PSDB), was spared by the program’s interviewers “Roda Viva”from the TV Cultura, on Monday night (May 20, 2024). At times the debate was directed towards topics linked to the environment, such as some state regulations made more flexible by the toucan administration – as if this had been the main reason for the recent floods.
Regarding the reform of the state environmental code, the governor of Rio Grande do Sul responded that there was no flexibility, but an update of the standards so that they were consistent with federal laws.
But there were no direct questions about objective flaws in the flooding prevention system that was defective in the Porto Alegre region and allowed the disaster.
The capital of Rio Grande do Sul has a system with 14 floodgates (large steel doors) and 23 water suction pumps that allow the city to survive up to the so-called level 6 (up to 6 meters above sea level). At no time was there water at this level in the recent flood. What happened, as shown by the Power360there were a series of defects in the gates – several motors to move the doors were stolen and never replaced – and in the suction pumps, as only 4 were in operation during the rains.
None of the interviewers Roda Viva asked the governor 3 direct questions:
- “Why didn’t your government repair the floodgates that were without engines or modernize the steel door closing system to prevent leaks?”;
- “why didn’t your government repair the 19 suction pumps that were not operating and that help return rainwater to Guaíba?”;
- “You always say there are scarce resources, but how much would these repairs have cost if they had been done after the 2023 floods?”.
In some parts of the program, interviewers asked whether public administrators -governor and mayors- should not have been prepared, given that there were floods in 2023. Eduardo Leite always responded with equivocation, saying that it rained more than 1,000 mm in a very short time and that prevented any reaction.
“Our government has sought to do everything within its power to reduce the impact of actions, it has sought to provide better response conditions, but naturally we deal with the limited conditions we have, which come from other administrations”said Leite, when asked about state government errors.
Again, there were no direct questions to answer and ask the governor about why the State did not repair the protection systems, with dikes, floodgates and pumps.
See what the system looks like in the infographic gallery below:
In an interview with Power360the teacher of UFRGS (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul) Fernando Dornellesa civil engineer and doctor in water resources and environmental sanitation, stated that the system was flawed and proved inefficient with the intense rains.
The situation showed vulnerable points that should be corrected, according to the professor.
“The fact is that the vulnerable points, which are the moving parts (gates and pump houses) did not prevent the water from entering. This was a failure. Knowing exactly why they failed is an investigation that needs to be done. Was this known? Was it negligence? Whoever was operating didn’t think about the possibility of Guaíba rising 4 meters and how they would respond?”he said.
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