Environmentalists denounce tomato harvest discharges into compromised river

Eco-movements have denounced “pollution of the River Maior coinciding with the start of the tomato harvest” and calling for the intervention of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and the Inspectorate-General for the Environment and Spatial Planning. In a statement, proTEJO – Movimento pelo Tejo, Movimento Cívico Ar Puro (from Rio Maior), EcoCartaxo – Movimento Alternativo e Ecologista (from Cartaxo) and Movimento Ecologista do Vale de Santarém (in the district of Santarém) say that pollution of the River Maior, a tributary of the Tejo, has been occurring since 1965, at the start of tomato harvests, particularly affecting S. João da Ribeira, in the municipality of Rio Maior, where a tomato processing plant is located. The results involve red tinted water that smells nauseating. Concerns are now, that with the drought amd much reduced river flow, these discharges will negatively impact the river’s flora and fauna.