In 2019, Brazil introduced the Força-Tarefa das Águas, an initiative designed to mobilize various government agencies to promote the development of wells, simplified water supply systems, and desalination units. These projects have been organized and officially in action since 2023. The plan has been able to help over 850 million individuals who come from cities and communities that are usually farther away from the government equipment for clean water. Due to Força-Tarefa das Águas, individuals now have access to clean drinking water near them, greatly reducing their reliance upon carros-pipa, trucks that transport water from facilities to rural and isolated areas. This is more helpful as the trucks have a restrained volume of water they can take per day, whilst these projects allow residents full access to water.
In order for the project to come to life, the government had to invest a total of R$1.2 billion in the sector. Specifically, R$6 million has been invested in the projects since 2019, with an additional R$590 million allocated to the initiative between 2021 and 2022, with the expectation of these values to increase.
The projects focus on assisting states with the highest levels of water insecurityMaranhão, Ceará, Piauí, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, and Minas Gerais. In the state of Ceará, for example, the project impacts 5.703 families, in 118 locations, and 19 total cities, guaranteeing that all have access to clean and safe potable water.
Not only does this initiative work on new technologies to normalize access to fresh water in the more rural areas of Brazil, but they are also tasked by the government to analyze any loss of water, irregular connections in the technologies, and the contamination of water sources. They are recognized for their real-time monitoring of technologies, allowing them to swiftly identify even the smallest issues and resolve them promptly. According to the director of Águas do Sertão, Antonio Hercules Neto, “a continuidade do programa é essencial para melhorar a situação hídrica da região da Bacia Leiteira.” (“the continuity of the program is essential to improve the water situation in the Bacia Leiteira region.”)
Brazil has nearly a fifth of the world’s water supply, however, 33 million Brazilians do not have access to clean, drinkable water. This issue demands our attention because it affects all of us, including Graded students. With our individual overuse of water, by overflowing the toilet at school or taking hour-long showers at home, we are ending the scarce supply of clean water. Even though it’s unintentional, our unnecessary water usage contributes to the depletion of water supplies for those in need. This occurs because as the good is scarce, the water supply will shrink, making the cost of the good higher. As members of the Graded community and society, it is our responsibility to be mindful of our actions, recognize the water we waste, and address the excess we create., in order to preserve our dwindling supply of water while we still can.
Sources:
“Brazil may be the Owner of 20% of the World’s Water Supply but it is still Very Thirsty.” 2016. World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2016/07/27/how-brazil-managing-water-resources-new-report-scd.
“Falta de acesso à água potável atinge 33 milhões de pessoas no Brasil.” 2024. Agência Brasil. https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/geral/noticia/2024-03/falta-de-acesso-agua-potavel-atinge-33-milhoes-de-pessoas-no-brasil.
“Força-Tarefa das Águas.” n.d. Governo Federal. Accessed September 24, 2024. https://www.gov.br/pt-br/campanhas/nosso-brasil/forca-tarefa-das-aguas/.
“Força-tarefa viabilizada pelo Governo elimina desperdício de mais de 1 milhão de litros de água por hora no Sertão.” 2024. Governo do Estado de Alagoas. https://alagoas.al.gov.br/noticia/forca-tarefa-viabilizada-pelo-governo-elimina-desperdicio-de-mais-de-1-milhao-de-litros-de-agua-por-hora-no-sertao.
“Comunidades Rurais Do Rio Grande Do Norte Recebem Cisternas.” 2022. Serviços E Informações Do Brasil. June 7, 2022. https://www.gov.br/pt-br/campanhas/nosso-brasil/forca-tarefa-das-aguas/noticias/governo-federal-instala-235-novas-cisternas-e-beneficia-familias-do-rio-grande-do-norte.
[Photo] Cisterns installed in rural communities in Rio Grande do Norte as a part of Força-Tarefa das Águas – Photo: Codevasf
