Over 40% of drinking water from springs in Brazil goes to waste

Brazil wastes nearly four out of every ten liters of water that should be delivered by supply companies to the population. This is drinking water from springs that fails to reach people’s homes. The figures come from sanitation database SNIS and cover up to 2021.

The losses have dwindled, but not considerably. In 2020, they represented 40.1 percent of all the amount captured. In 2021, they stood at 39.3 percent.

The goal of the Ministry of Regional Development is that total losses do not exceed 25 percent by 2034. According to the calculations of the ministry’s Integrated Management Coordinator Paulo Rogério dos Santos, “if we reduced this percentage of losses to 25 percent today, we’d be no longer spending a sizable BRL 6 billion a year. This is a practice we need to correct. Or at least we should improve these results as soon as possible.”

Sérgio Gonçalves, executive secretary with the Brazilian Association of State Sanitation Companies, described the amount as money thrown away that could be invested in improving the system.

The biggest losses are found in the North, where 51 percent of what is captured is wasted, and the Northeast, where losses add up to 46 percent. Even in the Southeast, which has the largest supply coverage, wastage sits at 38 percent.

The volume of water wasted could all of the Brazilian population. Today, piped water serves about 84 percent of the people.