Some of the risks left by DANA after its passage through Valencia wait underground two weeks later. According to the Ministry of Ecological Transition (Miteco), 34 municipalities in the province see their sewers collapsed and this can constitute a serious danger to public health.
Torrential rains flooded the pipes and street cleaning work did not help the situation: to clear the streets, mud and waste were pushed into the sewers.
This quagmire has saturated the sanitation circuits and threatens to block them as the mud dries. As a result, the collectors cannot absorb the water and future rains may worsen the problem with further flooding and floods.
There is also a risk of sewage overflowing, making the problem worse. Sewage, stagnant water and sludge pose a public health risk as it is a means of transmitting infections, it is recommended to use appropriate footwear (preferably rubber), long clothing and to protect yourself with masks, gloves and protective glasses.
Miteco estimates that between 4 and 5 million cubic meters of sludge must be managed. Municipalities have been asking for days for heavy machinery to transport the mud to another location. The Geological and Mining Institute of Spain has already identified areas where the mud can be dumped.
However, it is necessary to purify wastewater before disposal to avoid environmental damage. In total, Miteco estimates that the damage caused to the infrastructure of the integral water cycle in the province amounts to 331 million euros, of which 134 would correspond to the main sewer network and 92 to the purification systems. The remaining 105 million would be for the water supply system.
“We have been asking the Spanish government for sewer unblocking trucks for three days to avoid serious public health problems,” denounced the President of the Valencian Community, Carlos Mazón, this Monday morning.
The government delegate of the Valencian Community, Pilar Bernabé, responded shortly after: “They asked us for the sewage trucks on Friday at 11:20 a.m. and, at that time, all the autonomous communities were mobilized by the Spanish government.”
Months before normality is achieved
Ignacio Andrés Doménechprofessor at the Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, explains that it will still take a long time to resolve the wastewater problems after DANA.
“It’s another infrastructure. The damage to roads, railways or agriculture is very visible, the sewers are less visible because they are underground but they provide a basic service to our cities and we must pay attention to them. same attention.”
The situation is not homogeneous in all municipalities but, for this expert, it is likely that normality will not be achieved “for weeks, even months”.
“If there has been solidification, Residual water outlet problems can occur in basements, ground floors or manholes of houses.. Tankers or trucks with nozzles can alleviate the overload and I know that’s what’s being done.”
On the positive side, it appears that the mud is very liquid and more difficult to solidify. If further rains arrive, they can help to alleviate the situation but you have to be careful, because depending on the intensity they could multiply the problem.
Las deficiencias en el alcantarillado son un grave problema de salud pública, según la Organización Mundial de la Salud. Aunque se refiere a problemas estructurales más que a los efectos temporales de lluvias torrenciales, advierte de que un saneamiento deficiente va asociado a “la transmisión de enfermedades diarreicas como el cólera y la disentería, así como la fiebre tifoidea, las helmintiasis intestinales y la poliomielitis”.
La guía de enfermedades infecciosas tras catástrofes naturales recuerda que estas “no es posible que las enfermedades que no son endémicas o importadas en zonas afectadas por el desastre se produzcan de forma natural. Las principales causas son la mala higiene, el hacinamiento, la falta de agua, potable, el saneamiento ineficaz y alcantarillado deficientes preexistentes”.
María del Mar Tomás, portavoz de la Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica (Seimc) y microbióloga del Hospital de A Coruña, explica a EL ESPAÑOL que “cuanto más tiempo se den las condiciones actuales, más probabilidad hay de que se desarrollen brotes infecciosos epidémicos en estas zonas. Lo que hay que hacer es evitar el agua [sospechosa de estar contaminada] as far as possible, even if I know that the conditions are now complicated to do so.
The specialist remembers that Diseases like cholera or typhus “are unlikely in Spain because they have been eradicated.”but they should not be excluded, an epidemic already broke out in the United Kingdom last year.
The most common infections associated with the presence of fecal and stagnant water are gastrointestinal infections. “Sewage contains bacteria such as E.coli, H. pylori either Salmonellawhich can contaminate water and food.
In healthy people, symptoms caused by these pathogens focus on discomfort, diarrhea, etc. for a period of five days. On the other hand, in immunocompromised people, “they can become serious, so suspicious water consumption should be avoided”.
The doctor explains that it is important to avoid contact with stagnant water, so it is important to “use gloves, protective glasses and wash your hands frequently with soap and water.”
Other bacteria found in dirty water are Staphylococcus And Clostridium tetaniwhich can infect wounds, so he recommends wearing waterproof boots or latex gloves, “and washing wounds with soap and water.”
Tomás reminds that we must be very careful with tetanus and that health personnel “must review the number of vaccines that the patient can receive.” With less than three doses, a booster may be necessary“.
Although less common, hepatitis A and leptospirosis should not be considered. Especially the second bacterial infection transmitted by rodents. “And, if we have sewage, it can show up. The Leptospira It comes into contact with skin lesions or mucous membranes and can cause illness, usually accompanied by flu-like symptoms, but which can become serious.
Once the sludge has been removed from the sewers and normal sanitation in the communities has been achieved, the threat of infection decreases “clearly, but possible vectors such as mosquitoes and rodents must be monitored so that They don’t proliferate.”
