Today, the soldiers are finishing the last stage of construction of a pontoon bridge across the Vistula - the Minister of Defense Mariusz Błaszczak informed on Monday afternoon, after the meeting with the soldiers building the temporary bridge.
Decision to build an alternative pipeline was taken by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Thursday (August 29). The malfunctions of two tanks, collecting sewage from the left-bank Warsaw and directing them to "Czajka" waste treatment plant, occured on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. As a result, the waste is being released straight into the Vistula. According to an estimate by the environment minister, 260.000 cubic metres of waste flows into the river every day.
Referring to the pontoon bridge, Błaszczak said that "it has seven parts, of which 3 are already connected". "The remaining parts will be connected soon," he added. He reminded, as it had been announced earlier, that the bridge would be ready by Tuesday.
The minister also said that "further works will follow, aimed at stopping the degradation of the Vistula and providing safety for people living north of Warsaw, as they are in danger, just as the environment is".
"The Polish Army have once again provided security for residents north of Warsaw," the minister concluded.
New pipeline
"Construction of a pipeline that would send sewage to "Czajka" waste treatment plant will begin tomorrow," the chief of the Prime Minister's Chancellery (KPRM) Michał Dworczyk said on Monday after the session of the crisis group dealing with the waste spillage.
Dworczyk informed that the pipes were being transported to the right-bank of the river. Some of them were already being welded. This way, two pipelines of 1-metre diameter will be created. They will be attached to the pontoon bridge and connect the tank on the left bank with a pipeline on the right. The lenght of one pipeline should reach about 1.100 metres.
The head of the KPRM underscored that many changes had to be introduced during the works. "We didn't have full information from the city. For example, it turned out that the released waste hadn't been initially sorted. Diapers fall in here, big waste. We had to replace the pumps as the ones we'd used so far would have been damaged. But we've managed. Just like we did with purchasing of the pipes, of which we need over 2 kilometres," he added.
According to the deputy chief of the Polish Waters, Krzysztof Woś, the new pipeline should be operational by Saturday.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, PAP
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: tvn24