In Brazil, 40% of the drinking water distributed is lost along the way

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A team of technicians searches for sounds in the city that nobody hears. The device reveals the noises of water leaking underground. But sometimes, all it takes is a quick look to find a leak. In Brazil, 40% of the drinking water distributed is lost along the way. Besides leaks, there are clandestine connections. They precariously supply low-income families, and the improvisation of these connections also throws water away.

“We are facing a tremendous shortage. But we still find many places where water is wasted,” says Rodrigo Olegário, a community leader from Vila Brasilândia, São Paulo.

A survey by CNI, the National Confederation of Industry, indicates that Brazil needs to invest, between now and 2033, more than R$42 billion (US$8.5 billion) to halve water losses in distribution. The year 2033 is the deadline established in the National Basic Sanitation Plan for the country to bring drinking water and sewage collection and treatment to almost the entire population.

Mônica Messenberg, CNI’s Institutional Relations director, says that this amount of investment has never been made in Brazil.

“The investment in this segment has been much lower than necessary. However, it is extremely relevant for the results that it will bring. It will reduce our wastage by 40%, which, compared to the countries that are the benchmark today, would be 10%, such as Germany and Japan. This sanitation policy, at some point, is fundamental for you to reach some objectives that are primordial for the country: the reduction of poverty, of inequality, the increase in economic development,” she says.

Some 40, 50 years ago, water distribution networks were made with cast iron pipes. Today, these pipes leak because of the deterioration of the material, the pressure that the system uses to make the water reach everywhere, and even because of the shaking that the vehicles cause when they pass over the asphalt. Gradually, this pipe is being replaced by another one, made with a type of plastic, which is even a little flexible and, therefore, more resistant.

The new legal framework for sanitation, which came into effect in 2020, opened more space for the private sector’s participation. Percy Soares Neto, director of the Brazilian Association of Private Sanitation Operators, represents these private companies.

“Increasing investments in water losses doesn’t necessarily mean increasing tariffs. Water loss or water theft is harmful to other citizens. The investment in water loss also has an important social justice component: if I stop these water detours, I can probably split the bill among more people,” he says.

About the lack of regular sanitation in some points in Vila Brasilândia, in São Paulo, Sabesp said that the law prohibits connections in irregular areas.

With information from G1