Common Questions

Only individual water analyses will be carried out on the properties hit by the mud. It is already known that the mud was not toxic, but if there are problems the damage is being compensated or will be, with measures such as access to treated water, for example.

Rural properties have been visited to survey their situations, giving insight into the post-collapse reality and what needs to be done.

No. The Ministry of Health recommends that all water – whether from a river, well, lake or reservoir – goes through treatment before consumption. Contamination can already take place at the source of the water. For example, water from a well may come from a groundwater table (underground natural reservoirs) containing many metals due to the soil’s own characteristics. The soil in the region is rich in iron and manganese, for example.

Well water can also be contaminated by substances from a distant dump or by the existence of a nearby cesspit. Hence the importance of municipalities having appropriate sanitary landfills to dispose of waste and sanitary sewage collection and treatment systems, for adequately disposal of domestic effluents. Therefore, we can say that these systems help to protect water.

Because of the presence of iron and manganese in the soil and water in the region. They are also present in the water of artesian wells and leave the clothes yellowish.

Alternative water withdrawal from the Doce River is expected for all municipalities affected by the collapse of the Fundao dam and that had their public water supply impacted. Each solution is being decided upon according to the results of a Water Availability Study, conducted by Renova, and the results are discussed with municipalities (and eventually their concessionaires), the Basin Committees and the Interfederative Committee (CIF) – entity responsible for guiding and supervising the reparatory and compensatory measures established as a result of the Fundao dam collapse.

The Renova Foundation has been working to help rural producers develop new business models, more profitable and less dependent on the local sale of the product in natura.

For example, environmental regularization may open doors to future charges for so-called environmental services (maintenance of forests favors, for example, water production and pollination, and this can be remunerated).

Another example is the creation of micro and small local processing companies to increase profits (such as the sale of pepper jelly instead of pepper in natura). With this objective, there are already several training sessions and technical assistance in place for local producers, and special lines of credit are being negotiated.

At the same time, detailed studies commissioned by Renova on fish, vegetables, farmed meat and other impacted products, will bring answers and conclusions that will help restore consumer confidence.

Studies are still underway to understand how tailings have affected soil chemistry. One of them concluded that the soil affected by the tailings is good for receiving some crops – such as cotton, grass and potatoes – and also the native trees that are being used for revegetation of banks and forest recovery actions.

About 800 hectares of native species of grasses and legumes were planted urgently on sites with accumulated tailings. This action was completed in July 2016.

At the same time, work was initiated on the banks of 101 tributaries of the Gualaxo do Norte and Carmo Rivers, for the reconformation of margins, drainage and erosion control, using several techniques. This stage was finalized in July 2017.

An area of ​​1,150 hectares of plains has been receiving the same attention using the techniques that stabilize the tailings and reduce soil drenching, avoiding the risk of animals getting stuck. Later, they must be restored by planting native trees, recomposing the so-called riparian forest (at the edge of the watercourses).

Also, in 2017, the Tailings Management Plan began to be implemented along the 670 km of rivers affected by the tailings from the Fundao to the sea. The whole reach was divided into 17 stretches. Each of them will be evaluated according to indicators, criteria and guidelines to define the best set of solutions, with the least possible impact on the environment and local communities. The works will include the validation and close monitoring by environmental agencies and consultations with the landowners.

No direct relationship between water and impacts on animal life has been established. However, Renova commissioned detailed studies to know the exact consequences of using the water directly for irrigation and watering animals. As soon as finalized, the conclusions will be widely disseminated.

It is impossible to ensure that there is no relation between one thing and another without conclusive studies, but the fact is that the water of the Doce river today has conditions similar to those before the dam collapse. However, Renova commissioned detailed studies to know the exact consequences of using the water directly for irrigation and watering animals.

The Doce River water is suitable for human consumption everywhere where it is being treated by the public water supply system. Before reaching the consumer’s home, it must undergo procedures that occur at a Water Treatment Plant (ETA or WTP). The goal is to remove any contamination that may cause health problems. In fact, no water – be it from rivers, wells, ponds, etc. – should be distributed for human consumption without going through this process.

The Ministry of Health is responsible for establishing standards of potability, methods of control and monitoring the quality of water for human consumption, defined in Consolidation Ordinance No. 5 of September 28, 2017, Addendum XX.

The Basic Sanitation Law (Law No. 11,445 of 2007) states that it is up to the municipalities to provide water supply services. In practice, this task can be carried out directly by municipalities or delegated to companies.

In the Doce River Basin both situations exist. In most municipalities, water is supplied by public concessionaires, such as the Autonomous Water Sanitation Service (SAAE), and Mixed Private-Public Ownership Companies, such as the Sanitation Company of Minas Gerais (Copasa) and the Environmental and Sanitation Company of Colatina (Sanear). In some localities, the municipality provides the water supply services, thus becoming responsible for the quality of the water.

In rural areas, there is no distribution of treated water due to the long distances that would have to be overcome from the Water Treatment Plants.

In urban areas, if the water supplying a household is distributed by the public system then it necessarily goes through treatment. The concessionaires operating along the Doce River are mainly Copasa, in Minas Gerais; Sanear, in Espirito Santo; and SAAEs, linked to municipalities. Check the parties responsible for water treatment in the municipalities affected by the Fundao dam collapse and, in doubt, reach out to your town hall.

It is up to the water distribution services of each town to ensure the quality of the water and inform the population about how it is being treated. Disclosure of information usually happens through the companies’ own websites and the consumer’s water bills.

Yes. Concessionaires are obliged to comply with Ordinance No. 5, dated September 28, 2017, Addendum XX, of the Ministry of Health, which sets standards for potable water. Failure to comply with these standards may penalize companies. They should also disclose water analyses.

The treated water, coming out as tap water, can be used for drinking, cooking, bathing and doing the laundry. Any water to be ingested (human consumption) must be treated, in accordance with the drinking standards of Ordinance No. 5, dated September 28, 2017, Addendum XX.

If the water box is washed properly and frequently but still dirt keeps appearing, you must call the town hall or the town concessionaire to find out what is happening. This is a quality problem and the bodies responsible for public supply need to be warned to be able to solve it. If the water comes from a well or a river, it needs to be replaced with treated water – at least for the consumption by the household.

The Ministry of Health’s recommendation is not to consume water abstracted from rivers and wells without being treated first. The public supply agencies (municipalities and concessionaires) are responsible for the treatment. So, we need to understand each case to question responsible institutions and seek action.

Renova contracted an Epidemiological and Toxicological Sanitary Study. It will help identify health risks from direct contact with Doce River water after the Fundao collapse. We already know that the main contaminant of the Doce River is the discharge of 80% of untreated domestic sewage in the region. Therefore, Renova will comply with determination to assist municipalities, including financial resources, to install Wastewater Treatment Stations (WWTPs).

There are different ways of doing studies and you need to know exactly what each institution is evaluating in their respective research. Officially, the Institute for Water Management of Minas Gerais (Igam) has been monitoring the Doce River since 1997, through the so-called Minas Water Program.

According to these parameters, since the first half of 2016, the water of the Doce River is in similar conditions to before the Fundao dam collapse and is suitable for consumption after being treated. The treatment is the responsibility of the private or public distribution companies – concessionaires, such as Copasa, SAAE, Sanear and municipalities.

Renova, with its programs for repairing and compensating damages, is contributing to improve the condition of the water in the region. To this end, it has already invested in the improvement of 14 Water Treatment Plants and pipelines and will assist municipalities in the construction of Wastewater Treatment Plants and sanitary landfills for the treatment of solid waste.

Renova is committed to reducing the dependence on the Doce River by the municipalities that were affected at the time of the Fundao dam collapse and who had their public water supply compromised.

One of the solutions is the withdrawal of water from alternative water sources and the construction of systems to take this water to the municipalities. But it is not a matter of replacing the Doce River water withdrawal.

The alternatives are being analyzed with each municipality. But regardless of the origin of the water, the responsibility for the treatment and distribution will continue to be of the concessionaires and municipalities.

Once treated, the water of the Doce River meets the safety standards defined by the Ministry of Health. In towns like Alpercata, Belo Oriente, Colatina, Governador Valadares, Linhares and Tumirintinga, it has been used without problems. The same should happen in other municipalities.

The water tank trucks were an emergency solution. The challenge now is to build definitive solutions. Therefore, Renova has made improvements to Water Treatment Plants (WTPs), is implementing alternative water withdrawal systems and discussing case by case with municipalities, communities and authorities related to water. But it is inevitable that the supply by water tank trucks will stop.

There is no intention to substitute the Doce River. It is still the safest source of water in the region.

The Water Safety Study points to several water sources as an alternative for the water withdrawal from the Doce River, but full replacement was not indicated in the TTAC, which refers to percentages of 30% and up to 50% (for municipalities with up to 100,000 inhabitants) as limits for dependence reduction of the localities to the main source.

To get informed about Renova’s initiatives, it is worth consulting the Water Supply System Improvement Program on the Foundation’s website.

Specific questions can be clarified free of charge by calling 0800 031 2303 or in person at one of the 13 Information and Service Centers that Renova operates in different municipalities.

The coliform index in the waters of the Doce river, derived from domestic sewage, is one of the indicators that define whether it is possible to practice sports. It is the function of the public authorities to supervise this condition and establish the parameters of use. Among other factors, the limitation is closely linked to the risk of accidental water intake – for kayaking and sailing, for example, it is lower, while swimming, diving and water skiing imply a greater risk.

No. Only the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) can respond on the quality of the fish from the Doce River and if its suitable for consumption. A technical opinion from Anvisa, dated June 2016, pointed out that the consumption of fish from the Doce River is not prohibited, but the document alerts to keep monitoring the species.

It is worth remembering that, in the Minas Gerais portion of the river, the fishing of exotic species (which are not natural in the region) has already been released by the State Forestry Institute (IEF) – through Ordinance No. 40, dated May 11, 2017 – and that in Espirito Santo, fishing in the river was never prohibited. Today, only the area of ​​the sea next to the Doce River mouth is prohibited. In Minas, the prohibition of capturing native species has the objective of not harming the repopulation of the river.

Fishing in the Doce River is only totally prohibited in the coastal region, between Barra do Riacho (Aracruz) and Degredo/Ipiranguinha (Linhares), in Espirito Santo. In the Minas Gerais portion of the river, fishing has already been released for species that are not native to the region, such as Peacock bass, Nile tilapia and African catfish. The reason for restricting the fishing of native species is to allow the fauna to recover.

In total, Renova will protect and restore 5,000 springs in the region affected by the Fundao dam collapse, which must be in place and monitored until 2027. Who defines the areas in which they will be restored is the Doce River Basin Committee.

The work began with 511 springs in the basins of the rivers Suacui Grande, Santa Maria do Rio Doce and Pancas. The others will be spread over the regions of the Caratinga, Guandu, Manhuaçu, Piracicaba, Piranga, Santa Maria, Santo Antônio, Sao Jose and Suacui rivers.

In other lines of action, Renova works on the restoration of springs (5 thousand in total, implemented and monitored until 2027), reforestation of banks, plains and protection areas along the rivers Doce, Carmo and Gualaxo do Norte.

Tailings management actions have already taken place in critical areas of the rivers up to the Candonga plant:

• 800 hectares of riverbanks have undergone initial revegetation;
• 101 tributaries were the focus of several techniques for removal and stabilization of the tailings;
• 150 hectares of plains received fast-growing vegetation (action to be completed by the end of 2017);
• 2000 hectares of native tree planting to help compose the so-called riparian forest, which protects watercourses (action ending in 2018).

To complete, 40,000 degraded hectares in the Permanent Protection Areas (PPAs) will undergo forest restoration. PPAs are areas foreseen by law with the environmental function of preserving water resources, landscape, geological stability and biodiversity, facilitating the genetic flow of fauna and flora, protecting the soil and ensuring the well-being of human populations.

The neutralization of the impacts of the tailings on the water quality must occur with the implementation of a so-called Tailings Management Plan. It establishes a set of actions – approved by the environmental agencies in June 2017 – and implementation will start along the full reach of the affected rivers, according to the 2017 state of each stretch. Among the solutions outlined in the Management Plan is the construction of natural treatment plants, with aquatic plants whose roots are capable of absorbing metals.