2023-12-06 20:15:27
The most recent data from the National Sanitation Information System (SNIS) , from 2021, point out that 84% of Brazilians have water coverage and only 56% are connected to the sewage network. This means that 33 million people live without access to treated water and 93 million still do not have access to sewage collection. Among the main consequences of this situation are the hundreds of hospitalizations due to illnesses, in addition to negative economic, educational and social consequences.
Like many problems in Brazil, the issue is not in the legislation, but in the difficulties of putting into practice what is on paper. A Lei . 14,026, of 2020, established the New Sanitation Legal Framework, with the main objective of increasing investments by universalizing services by 2033 through concessions or Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with regional providers, ensuring that 99% of the population of the country has access to drinking water and 90% to sewage treatment and collection.
Since the landmark came into force, significant bidding processes have taken place in the country – with emphasis on sanitation service concession projects in the following states: Amapá, Rio de Janeiro, Ceará and Alagoas. Together, the projects already underway foresee investments of almost R$68 billion, covering more than 31 million people.
PAC 2023
Launched in August this year, the new Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) foresees R$34 billion over the next three years for improvements in water and sewage systems, including conservation and environmental education initiatives, in addition to works, which encourages the sector. “It is urgent that there is a composition between the public and private sectors to attract more investments and take off once and for all this challenge that is in the daily lives of Brazilians”, highlights Francisco Carlos Colnaghi, vice-president of the Board of Directors of Asperbras Brazil and general director of Asperbras Tubos e Conexões and Asperbras Rotomoldagem, which brings together companies in the agricultural, food and infrastructure sectors. “We have to deal with the fact that there are different realities in different regions of the country and prioritize actions in states where this lack causes numerous basic problems, such as health and education”, adds Colnaghi.
Sustainable development
The debate regarding different regional realities and their peculiar needs was also the theme of this year’s edition of the National Sanitation Fair (Fenasan), the largest event of its kind in Latin America, held in São Paulo: “Environmental Sanitation in the Globalization of Sustainable Development”. Several speakers emphatically recalled that basic sanitation does not only include the supply of drinking water and sanitary sewage, drainage and rainwater management, but also urban cleaning and solid waste management, as defined by Law 11,445, which established the National Waste Policy Solids.
A third of municipalities still maintain open dumps. There are still around 3 thousand units like this in the country. The first deadline to eradicate them ended in 2014. The Legal Framework for Basic Sanitation, of 2020, extended this deadline in capitals and metropolitan regions to 2021, in cities with less than 50 thousand residents, to 2024. “Such a scenario represents very difficult conditions. life for the population, compromising the future of the country”, reinforces Francisco Carlos Colnaghi.
Ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all is the 6th goal among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established in 2015 by the United Nations (UN). “If Brazil does not accelerate investments in this area, it will be yet another unfulfilled goal among several that are not getting off the ground”, warns Francisco Carlos Colnaghi, remembering that one of the points of the objective is to improve the quality of water in water bodies, reducing pollution, eliminating waste and minimizing the release of dangerous substances. “We must start from the beginning: without water, there is no form of life on Earth, so there is no other way than to roll up our sleeves and work to take care of this basic and essential resource, in every way possible, urgently, in order to enable a more dignified life for people” concludes Colnaghi.
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