Plasencia (population 39,829) has activated Level 1 of its Water Emergency Plan, which translates into a recommendation from the City Council so that residents do not consume tap water for drinking, cooking or brushing their teeth. The reason is that the heavy rains that fell in recent days washed away the ash and organic materials resulting from the dangerous fires that the northern Extremadura region witnessed last August.
The Council reported on Saturday afternoon that the analyzes conducted revealed changes in several analytical standards that affect their suitability for direct consumption. Specifically, values such as pH, turbidity and organic load were changed, complicating treatment processes in the drinking water treatment plant.
As the City Council indicated in a statement, the Mayor, Fernando Pizarro, and the Environmental Councilor, José María Nessa, maintain constant coordination with Public Health, Water UTE, the Environmental Health Center of the Health Service of Extremadura and the Municipal Crisis Management Board.
In addition, communication channels with residences, educational centers, industries and hotel establishments have been strengthened to ensure alternative supplies if necessary.
“We are working with complete transparency and anticipation,” Nessa said. “Today’s measures allow us to anticipate the behavior of the water and protect the population. If we move to level two, the response will already be ready.”
The rains have already caused problems in several towns in the Jerte Valley and Las Hurdes due to clouds of ash and organic matter from the fires, although the Extremadura government has downplayed the problem, despite numerous criticisms from residents in towns such as Villar de Placencia, Oliva de Placencia, Cabezuela del Valle and Casas del Monte.
The District Council of Cáceres provided drinking water tankers to the municipalities, and the regional secretary and candidate of the Socialist Workers Party, Miguel Ángel Gallardo, requested a meeting of the Permanent Regional Council (the association was dissolved due to the election call) so that the president and candidate of the People’s Party, María Guardiola, could give “explanations about the administration carried out in northern Extremadura after the fires. But the junta stressed the scuffing of water.” The ash and images of rivers and valleys with black water were a phenomenon of “great visual impact but temporary”.
About The Author
