Brazil headed to miss universal sanitation deadline
Tap water and wastewater services will only be generally available in Brazilian cities in 2054.
Brazil will not be able to meet its target of ensuring universal sanitation within the first half of this century, a survey by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) revealed. According to the report, tap water and wastewater services will only be generally available in Brazilian cities in 2054. The date set by the federal government to ensure safe water access to all was 2033, the final year of the National Sanitation Plan.
“At the current pace, sanitation, and especially sewage collection, will not be universally available in Brazil anytime soon,” said CNI Infrastructure Manager Wagner Cardoso, who led the study. According to him, given the recent surge in dengue, chikungunya fever and Zika virus cases, “the the sanitation gap is very costly to the country.” According to the World Health Organization (WHO), each dollar spent on sanitation saves $4.3 worth of health services costs.
In addition to the shortage in sewage services, the study found high non-revenue water figures. Water waste and theft result in only about $15 worth of water consumption being billed by water utilities for every $25 spent on water supply. According to Cardoso, water can be lost due to plumbing failures and the use of old equipment. “Brazil's water utilities have low efficiency,” he said.
The study went on to expose “low-quality engineering projects and project delays” in water management. “An average 22 months elapses between project design and execution. This is too long,” Cardoso noted.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Brazil headed to miss universal sanitation deadline
