Molenbeek (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Molenbeek stream in Ronse turned black, raising concerns. City official Patrice Dutranoit is awaiting an investigation by East Flanders province. Utexbel, near the stream, is not yet blamed.
According to officials, residents are worried because the Molenbeek stream in Ronse turned black due to pollution. A local environmental group posted a picture of the stream on social media. The city official in charge of the environment, Patrice Dutranoit, told the province about the problem. They are still waiting for the province to investigate.
Mr. Dutranoit said they don’t know what caused the stream to turn black, but it seems to be getting better. He said it’s too early to know how bad the pollution is. The authorities will investigate the problem to find out what happened and how bad it is.
Alderman for the Environment Patrice Dutranoit (ed&v teamronse) says,
“We immediately informed the province of East Flanders, so we are now waiting for a response from that side.”
Is Utexbel behind Molenbeek pollution in Ronse?
Some people think that a nearby company called Utexbel might be responsible for the pollution, but the city official, Patrice Dutranoit, said it’s too early to blame them. He said they need to investigate before they can say for sure. He explained that the company is near the stream, so it’s easy to think they might be the cause, but he wants to be careful.
He’s worried that blaming Utexbel without proof could be wrong. The authorities are going to do a full investigation to find out what caused the pollution and how bad it is. They will share more information when they know more.
“The Molenbeek runs through our city for a distance of 10 kilometres, so it is difficult to point to 1 party as the cause of the pollution”,
Patrice Dutranoit says.
The city official, Patrice Dutranoit, also said that Utexbel doesn’t work in the part of Molenbeek where the pollution was found. Utexbel went to the area to see what was going on, but their workers couldn’t say for sure if the pollution came from them. Because they aren’t sure, Utexbel is going to ask a scientist to find out if the pollution is connected to their past work.
Utexbel also announced that they are building a new plant that will help them clean up their waste. This plant is supposed to start working in June 2025. Officials mentioned that building the plant was delayed because of a legal fight with someone who lives nearby and some people who care about the environment. But they are building it now, and they want to make sure it’s working soon. They hope this plant will help stop pollution problems like this one and make sure they are following the rules.
