Nearly 40% of treated water in Brazil wasted

Approximately 40% of all the water that has been treated and made ready for consumption in Brazil's 100 largest cities are lost as a result of leaks, illegal connections, and other illicit operations. In some cities in the Amazon region, like Porto Velho and Macapá, the loss reaches over 70%.

The data were released on Wednesday as part of a study called Sanitation Ranking, conducted by Trata Brasil, an institute for the promotion of water treatment and sewage in the country.

According to the survey, of 100 municipalities listed, 11 report losses beyond 60% of the water treated. In the view of the institute's president Édison Carlos, the waste makes a significant impact on sanitation companies' investment potential and may hinder the expansion of the scope and the quality of the services they provide. “When the loss faced by a company is too great, it becomes unable to afford its own service,” he noted.

In spite of these figures, municipalities have done little to minimize the loss, the study points out. From 2011 to 2012, more than half of the cities surveyed (51) either did not reduce their waste in any degree or even saw their plight grow even worse. The institute believes this indicates that “decreasing the amount of lost water has not been a priority among Brazilian municipalities.”

The report further shows that a mere 10% of the municipalities analyzed have managed to cut down the volume of wasted water by more than 10%.  The average improvement was reported at no more than 0.05% compared to the 2011-2012 period.

On the plus side, the report also reveals that, in the 100 largest Brazilian municipalities, 92.2% of the population have access to treated water. Moreover, the coverage rises to 100% in 22 cities. The goal now is to invest in expanding the sewage networks, still precarious in most cities.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira