Anabela Freitas told Lusa that the polluting discharges into the river whenever the water level was high, had been recurrent and the situation seen on Thursday was “blatantly obvious” by the size during the day and the exacerbation during the night.

The mayor said the pollution was not so visible today because, as the water level has risen, the sluices had been opened, adding that the town hall had ordered water samples to be collected for analysis and that after presenting a complaint to the Portuguese Environment Agency, it too had sent inspectors to the site.