O Prata, longe, entre bosques (Prata, far away, among the trees)
À luz do sol se encobria (The sunlight engulfs it)
E suassombrassuspirando (And its whispering shade)
Selvagem, dúbiocorria. (Wild, doubtful ran)
Cívicoesforço o destorce (Civic force unwinds it)
E ei-lo loução se desliza, (And there beauty glides,)
Saúda o Prata a cidade (Praise the Prata, city)
Grato à mãoque o civiliza. (Thanks to the hand that tamed it)
(Inscription on a fountain installed in the 19th Century, where today MacielPinheiro Park is located, in the Boa Vista neighbourhood.)
The ‘Meio’ (Half) and ‘Prata’ (Silver) reservoirs make up the Pratabasin and are located in the ReservaEcológica de DoisIrmãos (DoisIrmãos Ecological Reserve), one of the remnants of Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Forest), in the Recife metropolitan area. They were built in the first half of the 19th Century, retaining some of their original features to this day; principally the water quality that is considered good enough for public consumption. Because of this, the Prata reservoir was the first source chosen to be the city’s water supply.
The Meio reservoir is approximately 24,000m2, with an approximate volume of 53,515m3and an average depth of 2.10m, while the Prata reservoir is about 18,550m2, with a volume of around 43,267m3during winter and 28,658m3in summer, and has a depth that varies from 0.15 to 4.40 metres. The water comes from artesian wells, subterranean waterways, rain and percolation from the surrounding area.
In 1838, the newly-created Companhia do Beberibe(Beberibe Company) was contracted to implement a drinkable-water storage system using fountains, whose catchment would be at Prata, at the Apipucos reservoir, at the Monteiroreservoir or at the Beberibe River. In 1941, the design by engineers Conrado Jacob Niemeyer and Pedro de AlcântaraBellegardedefined the Pratareservoir as the water source to be used, because of its water quality guaranteed by the location of its source, which was protected by the vegetation in the DoisIrmãos forest.
The Company acquired the lands of theDoisIrmãos sugarcane plantation because of concerns over the preservation of the forest that protected the Prata’s sources. Today the area is owned by the Pernambuco SanitationCompany (COMPESA), which in the effort to slow down the destruction of the waterways, clean the reservoirs, removing excess subaquatic and marginal vegetation.
The name of the reservoir, according to Pernambuco historian Pereira da Costa, is from a legend about Branca Dias, a rich plantation landlady who was denounced to the Tribunal of the Holy Office, at the end of the 16th Century during the time of the Inquisition, for practicing the crime of Judaism.
Upon receiving the arrest order, she through all of her silver (‘prata’ in Portuguese) serving set into the water, and that is how the reservoir got its name. Branca Dias was later burned at the stake in Portugal.
Near the reservoir is another historic patrimony of the region, the Chalé do Prata (PrataChalet), a dwelling with English-influenced architecture, two stories, two small side terraces, built on pillars and a wooden floor that urgently needs restoration, as does the whole house. It would have been theresidence of Branca Dias. To the right of the house is the Pratareservoir, and in front is the Meio reservoir.
Integrated with the natural landscape, the chalet is in one of the most rustic places in the city, nowadays visited by groups of cyclists and lovers of hiking and trails. Because it is an area of environmental preservation, access to the Prata Valley has always been, and continues to be, restricted.
Another legend about the place is that it is known as the Dutch hole, referring to the existence of a secret passage used by the Dutch in the 17th Century.
There are also legends about disappearances at the reservoir, with the most famous being a young woman who went there with her minder (a slave) during the June festival period, to ask the Prata waters to send her a husband. When she leaned over the water she disappeared. The minder ran to her but did not find her mistress, who had been taken by the ghost of Branca Dias. Many say that on a full moon night, even today, two naked women can be seen in the middle of the reservoir. One of them isBranca Dias and the other the young lady from St John’s night.
The water of the Prata basin has no pollution, good oxygenation and elevated acidity, with a diversified microbialcomposition as much in terms of flora as in fauna. It is one of the few ecosystems in the Recife metropolitan area where environmental conditions remain in their natural state.
Until the first decade of the 20th Century, Recife’s water storage was only done through the use of the Prata basin’s waterways and, even today, a large part of its resident population in the city’s northern zone’s hills are supplied by them.
Translated by Peter Leamy, January 2012.
sources consulted
AÇUDE do Prata. Disponível em: . Acesso em: 22 jun. 2010.
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how to quote this text
Source: GASPAR, Lúcia. Açude do Prata, Recife. Pesquisa Escolar Online, Joaquim Nabuco Foudation, Recife. Available at: <http://basilio.fundaj.gov.br/pesquisaescolar/>. Accessed: day month year. Exemple: 6 Aug. 2009