Faro beach has been reopened today after a new analysis "has ensured that the waters are of the desired quality for swimming", announced Faro Council this morning.
The municipality revealed that “the red flag was removed and the green flag was raised”, which, in a note published on the council’s Facebook page, “attests to the excellent quality of Faro Beach, as a summer area that rigorously meets the most demanding requirements and environmental criteria.” Seemingly conveying that they are fully confident that the destination is safe for the thousands of families who choose it as a place to spend their holidays.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese Environment Agency and the Regional Delegate for Public Health are trying to "ascertain the source of the contamination " that yesterday, the 13th, had led to the beach being shut down.
According to the Faro municipality, "the hypothesis of environmental crime being perpetrated by a vessel or other sporadic phenomenon" becomes stronger.
By classifying the Faro beach ban as a 'one-off episode', the Council is keen to stress the “excellent condition of its exemplary sanitation network”, as well as the “high quality” of the two Wastewater Treatmeant Facilities serving the municipality and “being extremely advanced infrastructures from a technological point of view”. They guaranteed the public that “Faro is one of the Portuguese cities that is most committed to the preservation of the environment”. One of the Wastewater Treatment Facilities which serves the Faro and Olhão area was inaugurated a few months ago.
Faro Beach was closed down by authorities yesterday after the presence of the bacterium Escherichia coli, commonly known as E.coli, was detected at much higher levels than permitted. The concentration of E. coli that was found in the water was almost double the maximum amount over that which would be deemed safe. And so, the red flag was raised, prohibiting anything from going in the water.
A lifeguard working at Faro Beach revealed that this morning, there "seems to be less people than usual at the beach". But soon the usual flood of people shall return, as the temperature is climbing. The seawater temperature however remains uninviting.
