The Public Defender’s Office of Rio de Janeiro filed a new petition against the company Águas do Rio and the State Water and Sewage Company (CEDAE) after the rupture of a water main in the Prados Verdes neighborhood, in Nova Iguaçu, Baixada Fluminense, this morning Tuesday (28).
One of the requests is for Águas do Rio and Cedae to be ordered to pay R$5 million for collective moral damages to be converted into a discount on the water consumption bills of residents of Km 32, also in Nova Iguaçu.
Last Wednesday (22), given the possibility that occurrences of this type could happen, the Public Defender’s Office had already filed a public civil action to request the adoption of emergency measures to prevent this type of occurrence.
The rupture this Tuesday (28) occurred in the early hours of the morning, around 4 am, and affected seven properties, which were covered in mud. To carry out the repairs, the concessionaire had to reduce the water supply in the municipalities of Nilópolis and São João de Meriti, in Baixada Fluminense, and in neighborhoods in the north of the capital.
A survey carried out by the Public Defender’s Office shows that more than a thousand people who live in the km 32 neighborhood, in Nova Iguaçu, have already been harmed by at least seven water main ruptures between 2015 and May this year. One of the breakups resulted in the death of a three-year-old child.
According to public defender Rodrigo Pacheco, several pipelines cross the Km 32 neighborhood because of its proximity to the Guandu Treatment Plants.
“Residents of Km 32 live at constant risk of damage caused by the inadequate provision of water and sanitation services, as their homes are frequently hit by water resulting from the rupture of water mains that cross the neighborhood. We are going to propose an indemnity agreement to the concessionaire to compensate people for today’s disruption,” said Pacheco.
In the action filed last week and reinforced this Tuesday (28), the Public Defender’s Office asked that the company Águas do Rio be obliged to present a plan with emergency measures in the water mains located in the region, without removing families living there.
One of the measures would be, for example, the installation of flow and pressure measurement points with online transmission of data to the Operational Control Center. In this way, the Defender’s Office believes that there could be a quick response by the concessionaire and, thus, disruption incidents would be minimized, as already pointed out by the Energy and Basic Sanitation Regulatory Agency of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Agenersa), which regulates the sector .
The Defender’s Office also requests the granting of an injunction that obliges the concessionaire to present a corrective and preventive operation and maintenance manual; daily and permanent monitoring of the integrity of water mains; and the delivery, within 90 days, of a detailed action plan, with a schedule, of the emergency works necessary to prevent further disruptions.
In a statement, Águas do Rio reported that it was not notified about the requests from the Public Defender’s Office, but that it is carrying out an inventory of the affected houses in order to compensate the residents. The normalization of services provided by the company is scheduled for this Wednesday morning (29).
A CNN sought out Cedae to comment on the case and is awaiting a response.
Source: CNN Brasil
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