SPECIAL
DOCE RIVER LIVES
DOCE RIVER LIVES
Mobilization work to repair and search for unprecedented solutions is allowing the resumption of the conditions of the Doce River basin
On November 5, 2015, Mariana (MG) was the scene of an episode that marked the story. With the Fundão dam collapse, 39.2 million cubic meters of tailings reached the Gualaxo do Norte river. On the way to the Doce River, 10 million cubic meters of this material were deposited on the riverbed and on the banks of its tributaries; another 10 million cubic meters were retained in the dam of the Risoleta Neves Hydroelectric Power Plant (Candonga). It took 16 days for the sludge to reach the mouth at Regência, in the district of Linhares, Espírito Santo. Over the 670 kilometers of the route, the tailings wave changed the routine of 39 municipalities and caused social and environmental impacts wherever it went.
The Doce River, one of the most important watercourses in the country, was reached for most of its length – 670 kilometers out of a total of 853 kilometers. The collapse of the structure and its consequences changed the lives of communities, fishermen, changed the routine of cities and districts. The damage done went far beyond the shock of seeing sludge moving across the river. They were not visible, they were felt deeply.
REPAIR DATA
The public has the right to know and follow the Renova Foundation’s repair process and it’s the Renova Foundation’s duty to make the information available in a clear, objective and integrated way. Here you can access the updated results of the main fronts of actions taken in the affected municipalities.
From this disaster, started a big effort which is translating into a new stage for the Doce River basin. The work of repair and search for unprecedented solutions in a challenging scenario is conducted by the Renova Foundation and mobilizes dozens of entities, ONGs, universities, technicians and experts.
If in the period immediately after Fundão’s collapse there were doubts about the real situation of the river and its future, today, reality shows that the Doce River is undergoing a transformative recovery. Robust and modern monitoring of the watercourse, the engagement of communities and landowners in environmental conservation actions, the use of innovative technologies, investment in sanitation projects throughout the basin and a broad mapping of biodiversity are all some of the steps that allowed us to get here.