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Greater São Paulo Wastes 25% of Captured Water

02/05/2014 - 11h17

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EDUARDO GERAQUE
FROM SÃO PAULO

A quarter of the water captured by Sabesp (the state water company) in the Greater São Paulo area is lost on the path between the dam and the houses and buildings water boxes.

If all this water was not lost (2 million cubic meters/day), the crisis from the lack of rain in the Cantareira system, which supplies the region, would be smaller, just as the threat of rationing the water to 9.8 million people.

The amount of precipitation in the reservoir in January was the lowest since at least 2003. To try to prevent rationing starting in April, Sabesp decided to give 30% discount for anyone reaching a 20% reduction goal in water consumption.

The 25% loss rate, an improvement over the last decade, is still considered high by both the state company and experts on the subject.

The goal, considered bold by experts from Abes (Brazilian Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering), even if it is reached, will leave Brazil behind indexes of developed countries.

In cities from Japan and Germany, losses are close to 11%. In the United States, the goal is 16%.

"In the case of São Paulo, the uneven landscape and the large amount of properties in valleys make the supply without many leaks difficult," said President Dilma Rousseff.

According to her, it may not be feasible to lower losses to 15% or less, from an economic point of view.

The calculations, she says, show that investments in technology outweigh the revenue from water sale.

From the exact 24.7% loss reached in 2013, approximately 60% were caused due to leaks in the water utility network. The remaining 40% are the result of water theft mostly known, in Portuguese, as "gatos".

Sabesp estimates that 2 million people use water illegally in Greater São Paulo area.

DRY SUMMER

Even though the main private meteorological institutes in the country have forecasted a dry summer in São Paulo, Sabesp president says the company had information it would rain inside the average between the months of December and January.

"There was a sudden change [in the rain level scenario],"said the manager, who denies any planning error from the company.

According to Dilma, "it is unfair" to say that Sabesp is leaving all responsibility at the consumer's expense and that only now it has been campaigning against the excessive use of water. "On the contrary, the campaigns are constant."

She says there is trust that the 20% reduction in consumption in the Cantareira system can avoid the rationing to the population. Forecasts indicate that rains will be back to normal levels in March.

In collaboration to the article, RICARDO GALLO

Translated by SIMONE PALMA

Read the article in the original language

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