Action promotes community participation in collecting data on water and sediment quality in the Doce River
Leaders from the Barra do Riacho community, in Aracruz, Espírito Santo, 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.
In all, seven people, including fishermen, representatives of associations and community residents participate in the working group. Carried out in three stages, the actions are carried out by the Renova Foundation with technical support from the Tommasi laboratory, specialized in the collection and analysis of environmental materials, and promoted by the Social Dialogue teams and the Systematic Qualiquantitative Monitoring Program (PMQQS) of Espírito Santo.
Steps
The first phase, which has already been completed, consisted of monitoring the collection of materials. Held in two days, the participants witnessed the necessary procedures for pre-collection, collection and post-collection. Participants clarified doubts and were informed about procedures, protocols and precautions to avoid contamination and not compromise the sampling and analysis cycle. The activities also included recording information about the location of the material collection point, temperature of what was collected and the weather of the day.
In the second stage, scheduled for July, the group will pay a visit to the Tommasi laboratory, to monitor how the analyzes of the collected materials are carried out, which go through physical parameters (color, turbidity, temperature and odor), chemical (impurities and heavy metals) and biological (coliforms and algae).
Finally, the results of the analyzes will be presented to the entire community of Barra do Riacho at the Accountability Forum, “Results”, scheduled for August 11th. Alexandre Barbosa Ribeiro, a member of the Fishermen’s Association of Barra do Riacho (Aspebr) and of the Community Association of Barra do Riacho (ACBR), says he was curious to follow the process closely. “It’s been really cool to participate in the actions, get to know the work better and bring information about our river to the community”, he highlights.
Participation
The analyst of the Social Dialogue team, José Felipe Carneiro, explained the importance of monitoring the population in monitoring the rivers. “Community participation is essential to understand how samples are taken to analyze raw water and sediments. Having the opportunity to learn about how the equipment used by laboratory technicians works and how the collection points were defined helps to clarify the Renova Foundation’s performance in the region”.
According to Henrique Filgueiras, PMQQS analyst, those interested in participating should look for the Social Dialogue team. “The action contributes to the appropriation of the water quality results that are made available on the internet. The proposal is to carry out a monitored visit periodically in the communities of Espírito Santo”.
Monitoring
In addition to manual collection, there are also 82 monitoring points and 22 automatic stations installed in more than 650 kilometers of rivers and lakes, in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. The data generated are shared with bodies that regulate and supervise Brazilian waters and are also made available in a didactic way for public monitoring through the Water Newsletter and the Monitoring Doce River Portal.