Installation of equipment will provide population with water that has a close-to-natural taste
Since the beginning of April, the community of Sao Tome do Rio Doce, in Tumiritinga (MG), has a water softening system for potable water. The equipment, installed by the Renova Foundation, reduces the presence of calcium and magnesium salts in the water. Although the level of salts is below the limits established by the Ministry of Health (222mg/l, with a permitted value of 500mg/l), the device will provide the population with water that has a close-to-natural taste.
The softener supplements the existing treatment system in the Sao Tome do Rio Doce well, delivered by the Renova Foundation in March 2017. Currently, water withdrawn from the site serves 100% of the population.
Alessandro Luis Jeronimo, Infrastructure leader of the Renova Foundation in the region, explained that the measure was taken in response to community demand. “The Foundation is committed to listening, understanding and observing the demands of the regions affected. With the installation, our goal was to deliver an even better water quality,” he said.
In addition to the softener, the Renova Foundation will install a water withdrawal system in the Doce River and build a Water Treatment Plant (WTP) in the area in the first half of 2019. “The construction will ensure the region’s water security, which will have two different sources of water: the main one is the river and the other is the tubular well,” explains Jeronimo.
Currently, the water removed from the site serves 100% of the population of the community of Sao Tome do Rio Doce, in Tumiritinga (MG) | Photo: Disclosed
Other actions
The Renova Foundation is committed to reducing the risk of shortages in the 24 localities that were withdrawing from the Doce River and were left without water after the dam collapse. One of the objectives of the Water Supply Improvement Program is to find out the water availability of each one of them and to develop alternatives to the river. Fourteen WTPs were renovated in Barra Longa, Gesteira, Governador Valadares, Tumiritinga and Galileia in Minas Gerais, and Colatina in Espirito Santo, and one was built in Belo Oriente/Cachoeira Escura.
In Governador Valadares (MG), a river pipeline is being installed in the Grande River, located on the border of the municipality with Periquito (MG), in partnership with municipal authorities. With an extension of 35 kilometers, the work will have an approximate investment of R$ 155 million and has the potential to generate 770 jobs (direct and indirect).