With the initiative, the new partners want to make it possible for the population to follow the evolution of the depollution project
The Volta Pinheiros movement took advantage of World Water Day, celebrated this Tuesday (22), to announce a partnership with the IPH (Hydro Pollutants Index), from the University of São Caetano do Sul (USCS), for measuring and monitoring of the water conditions of the Pinheiros River, in São Paulo.
With the agreement, the group intends to verify and disclose levels of pollutants in the river, as a way of allowing the population to monitor the depollution project, carried out by the Government of the State of São Paulo and by Sabesp since 2019. The information will be published on the networks of Volta Pinheiros and IPH.
The idea of the movement is to show the evolution of the data scientifically until the end of the year, period for which the São Paulo government and the sanitation company promised to deliver the clean river.
When the depollution project was started in July 2019, in addition to cleaning, Governor João Doria said that the Pinheiros River would also be depolluted by December 2022, with a forecast of a BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) below 30 mg/ l. According to the HPI measurements at the end of 2021, BOD levels were above 75 mg/l.
“This data has been hidden by the responsible agents and in the face of omission, charging is a duty. Therefore, we decided to join a research center to measure, monitor and disseminate the data to citizens”, said Marcelo Reis, leader of Volta Pinheiros and co-CEO and CCO of Leo Burnett Tailor Made and ARC Brasil.
Last month, Volta Pinheiros asked the State to measure the BOD and other indicators of the quality of the river’s waters via the Access to Information Law (LAI). The lack of data and transparency is a constant criticism of the movement, which last year sent the “eau de Pinherrô perfume” to the authorities demanding information on pollutant levels.