Although water and sewage distribution services are basic requirements to provide dignity to citizens, and are even recognized by the United Nations (UN) as essential rights, they still do not reach many homes in Brazil. There are many challenges to improving the basic sanitation sector in the country, but these can be overcome with the involvement of governments, civil society, and industries.
The benefits of promoting this care go beyond improving people's lives. Investing in water treatment and sewerage helps municipalities to:
Continue reading the article to understand what are the challenges to improving the Brazilian basic sanitation sector and how companies and governments can help overcome them!
According to the 14th edition of the Sanitation Ranking, published by Instituto Trata Brasil, there are almost 35 million people living without treated water and about 100 million without sewage in the country.
Still according to the study, only 50% of all sewage generated in the nation receives adequate treatment. To give you an idea, the effluents that are not treated are equivalent to 5.3 thousand Olympic sewage pools, which are discharged directly into nature.
This scenario causes numerous damages to the environment, such as:
Not to mention the various diseases that spread in view of the disposal of untreated sewage:
But thankfully, there are ways to transform that scenario. The first step is to become aware of what our main challenges are to improve the basic sanitation sector in Brazil. Check it out!
Yes, the size of Brazil is one of our first challenges to improve the basic sanitation sector. Its land area is the fifth largest in the world with 8,514,876 km². To give you an idea, there are many countries with a size comparable to some of the Brazilian states, which makes it difficult to manage this service, such as:
Despite this, a large part of the Brazilian population is concentrated in large capitals. As a result, some parts of the country have a lower demographic index. Roraima and Amazonas, for example, are the states with the lowest number of inhabitants per square kilometer.
Population groups that live in more isolation, such as riverine residents and some indigenous peoples, end up facing more difficulty accessing basic services, such as sanitation and drinking water.
Basic sanitation services, such as the supply of adequate water and the collection and treatment of sewage, are essential to promote a decent life for citizens. In addition, as we have seen, this care returns good results for various sectors of a city or state, bringing more health and even economy.
However, the lack of recognition of the potential of this service by public management or even the prioritization of other areas means that little investment is allocated, which becomes a major challenge to improve the basic sanitation sector in the country.
Finally, the lack of awareness on the topic is another major challenge to improve the basic sanitation sector in Brazil. The disposal of garbage by the population in inappropriate places, for example, often causes culverts to be clogged, which can make it difficult to collect sewage in cities.
River pollution is another example of this lack of awareness. According to a report released by the NGO SOS Mata Atlântica, most of these water sources are in a fragile situation, which means that they are losing their capacity to supply the population and to maintain aquatic life.
Also according to the study, only 6.5% of 278 monitored water collection points in the country were classified as being of quality.
Protecting water sources and the environment is fundamental to improving this basic service in the country. And in this struggle, there must be the good engagement of everyone: the population, governments and industries.
Continue to our blog and learn more about the relationship and importance of sanitation and drinking water.
