break out acute gastroenteritis exist Tarazona has affected At least 120 people from Sunday to Monday, Lead local authorities to ban Use tap water for drinking and cooking, Municipal power supply network.critical situation As more than 10,000 people across the town feel unwelldeprived of basic services such as drinking water supplies.
The city council announced the measure two days ago after receiving an alert from the local health center, which was also sent to the public health department of the Aragonese government.yes Authorities are still investigating whether water was the cause of the outbreak and hope to have results this week, when the Public Health Surveillance Service conducts a more detailed evaluation of the tests. so far, Affected individuals develop typical symptoms of gastroenteritissuch as diarrhea, but severe cases requiring hospitalization have not been reported.
The decision was made after medical professionals noticed the only common factor among those affected was water consumption. Councilor César García Benito, responsible for water and sanitation in the Tarazona AssemblyMentioned that the first analysis was modest, but more detailed testing is underway at public health laboratories.In addition, the city council An outside firm has been asked to conduct two additional analyzes to clarify the situation.
García Benito said that if water was not the cause, the outbreak could be caused by a virus, as cases of gastroenteritis have also been reported in other areas of Aragon. However, there are several assumptions behind this question that has shocked municipalities.
Three assumptions
First, as a hypothesis, the water condition and quality of the Val reservoir, located in the municipality of Los Fayos, Aragon, which receives Water pollution levels are high due to intense pressure from industry and livestock farming. All these impacts also have a negative impact on the quality of the Qualls River and its feeding streams, The same river bathes the city of Tarazona.
In fact, this situation has Reported to the Prosecutor’s Office in recent years and known to the Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Ebro Hydrological Federation. The explanation for this is well known: as the river Quils flows upstream through Tarazona, especially between the municipalities of Olbega and Agreda, wastewater discharges exceed the permitted pollutant levels and end up in the Var reservoir, The reservoir then supplies the Quailes River. The companies marked with emission authorizations are Campofrío and Distiller.
This situation is known to the Ebro Hydrographic Federation, which has also lodged numerous complaints and complaints since 2017.To be precise, it released a report in 2019 confirming How emissions from towns, farms and fish farms are worsening water quality in the Quailes River Alert level reached. Specifically, the deterioration of reservoirs leads to the risk of toxic algae, known as cyanobacteria.
TOXIC SUBSTANCES IN CHEILES
The second hypothesis is still relevant There are high levels of toxic substances in the Quails River water. Specifically, recent rainfall has led to increased flows, resulting in higher pollution loads, Exacerbating problems at wastewater treatment plants Ágreda-Ólvega (sewage station), which is always discharging Since its establishment in 1999, it has not complied with the mandate.
This situation has led to the pollution of the river and the Elvar reservoir, so much so that the Ebro Federation has for many years designated it as The most polluted reservoir in the basin.
In the long term, solutions appear complex, even more so when the source of infection is uncertain. In the short term, however, the city council has issued notices for regular chlorination treatments, which make water intended for human supply potable. In addition, decantation, filtration and other treatments are often required.
What is not yet clear is how it is achieved The system described has a high level of contaminationaffecting the city of Tarazona’s drinking water collection, approximately Operations of the Tarazona wastewater treatment plant and the quality of the city’s water supply.
However, according to consulting experts, we must do it in a simpler way that will not cause harm to the future. Necessary potability of drinking water produced by the Quails River as it flows through Tarazona. To do this, we must first consider the source of the water and identify the specific conditions that cause excessive water flow. Drinking water quality deteriorates in Tarazona. Even at this point, consulting sources suggest that the CHE should intervene in the management of the Ágreda-Ólvega wastewater treatment plant and review its discharge authorization.
According to account Francisco Javier Mendibir, “Sometimes emissions from towns, farms and the meat industry in Agreda and Olvega stop, often without adequate purification, to the river bed, which caused serious problems for the core downstream.