The amount of treated water lost in distribution systems in Brazil represents a volume equivalent to 7,800 Olympic swimming pools wasted daily. The data is from a survey carried out by the Trata Brasil Institute, released this Wednesday (1). With this volume of water, it would be possible to supply 66 million Brazilians, that is, the deficit of 35 million people without access to the resource would no longer exist.
It is estimated that about 40% of water is lost in distribution systems before it even reaches homes. The cause for this damage would be leaks in the pipes, which, for the most part, are underground and are imperceptible on the surface.
For the executive president of Instituto Trata Brasil, Luana Siewert Pretto, the occurrence of leaks is natural, but the level registered in Brazil reveals the disregard of the distributors with the maintenance of the service.
“When you have a loss of 18%, 20%, it is considered adequate management. But we have cities with more than 80% of the water being lost. This volume wasted daily could supply 13 million people living in favelas across Brazil for three years,” he explains.
The study also highlights the environmental impact of waste. The volume of water that could be saved from nature would help, according to the research, to keep rivers fuller and reduce the environmental impact.
According to the survey, with about 40% of water being lost in the distribution process, Brazil is increasingly distant from reaching the goal of the New Legal Framework for Sanitation.
Sanctioned in 2020, the project had as one of the goals to reach the rate of 25% loss of volume until the arrival of water in the residences. Currently, all Brazilian regions are above the stipulated value. In the North, more than half of the water (51.22%) is wasted and in the Northeast the rate is 46.28%. The most optimistic scenario is found in the Midwest, where 34.16% of the volume of water is wasted.
Source: CNN Brasil
