JANUARY 2014 The situation in the Cantareira system is critical. This is the third summer in a row with less rain than expected. SABESP, the São Paulo state water company, blames the supply crisis on the lack of rain and asks consumers to use less water.
APRIL 2014 But in Greater São Paulo, people are already complaining about water shortages and price increases. According to the São Paulo State government, tapping the so-called “Dead Volume” should prevent the need for rationing. If the crisis gets any bigger we are going to distribute water with a mug.
Another goal for Germany! JULY 2014 Federal prosecutors fear a collapse in the system and recommend that the state government begin rationing water immediately. There is no water shortage in São Paulo, there will be no water shortage in São Paulo.
OCTOBER 2014 Gerardo Alckmin was reelected Governor of São Paulo. Thank you, São Paulo! As night falls, so does the water supply.
In some neighborhoods of São Paulo the residents complain that they are already facing a water shortage. Geraldo Alckmin, governor of São Paulo, admitted today for the first time the existence of water rationing. FEBRUARY 2015 Despite a rise in the system’s level, the recent rains haven’t reached the second level of the “Dead Volume” We’re working against the need for water rationing and nothing today indicates that it needs to be done.
EPISODE 1 - THE DENIAL OF THE CRISIS The risk of a collapse in Greater São Paulo’s water supply has been foreseen for more than 10 years. Throughout 2014, with the crisis underway, more attention was given to other issues and the problem was neglected. While many prayed to Heaven, little was said about responsibilities and solutions here on Earth.
A centralized management and without transparency, the Government of São Paulo state refused to accept the seriousness of the problem to avoid political turmoil. The largest city in Brazil is running out of water. There is no wish to communicate to the people the real situation, the crisis that we are going through, The situation is too delicate for decisions to be made for political reasons.
To solve the crisis, decisions have to be made for technical reasons. We know that floods and droughts have occurred throughout history and that they will continue to take place. So we have to be ready for the two extremes, we can’t make decisions pretending that things are normal.
Politicians and economists are treating water resources like a commodity. That’s not right. You are dealing with the essential element of life and it has to be respected as such.
The Cantareira system started 2014 with its capacity at 27% In May the system reached the “Dead Volume”. That’s to say, the account balance hit zero and it was time to use the credit card. In November we passed our credit limit, time to start writing checks.
By October 2015, it’s likely that this source will also run dry. Then we'll have to use our last resource. Scrape the bottom of the barrel (3rd Dead Volume) SABESP claims that the water added by pumping is a positive addition to the system.
But in reality, the system’s capacity is already negative. How much interest will we have to pay to fill these reservoirs again? We had already realized that 2013 was beginning with the reservoirs well below the desired levels.
And the rains that came in 2013 were only at about 30% of the historical average. So, in December, we sent a proposal to the state water authority and to the national water agency recommending a 50% reduction in consumption from December 2013, Despite that message, it was business as usual. And even though we warned them that the outflows had to be reduced, they kept believing that the rains would come.
There was no lack of planning or of technical preparation. What was lacking was execution. Since May 2013, more water has been flowing out of the Cantareira system than has been flowing in.
But only since February 2014 has Sabesp begun to take measures to reduce consumption in Greater São Paulo. From February to March is noted an expressive drop in water outflow levels. From March until October, there is a gradual fall.
And after the elections, the outflow volume drops significantly once again. Until 2013, Greater São Paulo consumed on average of 69,000 liters of water per second. 49% of this water came from the Cantareira system.
By January 2015, the average consumption had fallen to 54,000 liters per second. According to Sabesp, this reduction in demands on the Cantareira system came from the following sources: 23% from reduced consumption with bonus on the water fee, 4% from service cuts to towns not served by Sabesp, 21% by using water from the systems of Guarapiranga and Alto Tietê instead, to cover the shortage on the areas covered by the Cantareira System and 52% from water pressure reduction in the piping systems, to prevent leaks. The authorities won’t confirm it, but São Paulo residents are already facing daily water cuts.
The Alto Tietê reservoir is going the same way as Cantareira. Sabesp admits that it is saving water by reducing pressure during off-peak hours. What is rationing?
It's to close the tap. We have water on the first day, then nothing on the next two. We have water only 4 hours per day.
If they start the five day off, two day on rationing, we'll have no water at all. We’ve been abandoned. 20 days.
I count every day. We’ve been living this for 20 days. Dr taps.
We’re storing water here. Over there there’s no water for the toilet. No way that water is coming out of the shower.
We store water all over in these. For cooking too. We wash the dishes like this, with the minimum of water.
3 o'clock in the afternoon, the water is gone. What are we going to do without water? Drnk cachaça!
If a person has no water for several hours, it is clear that that person is experiencing rationing. That’s obvious! There is no water rationing, we won't close the system today and open it tomorrow.
That doesn't exist! But hydric restriction? Of course there is.
We don’t have rationing, but we do have a situation where water supplying is interrupted. The lack of information about this makes it harder for people to plan ahead. The fact is: water rationing exists.
It’s rationing, but it’s unofficial. And the fact that it’s unofficial makes it even worse because it creates inequality, it doesn’t let people know where the shortages are happening, whether it’s rich neighborhoods or poor neighborhoods where the water is missing. And it doesn’t allow the citizen to make any plans.
The Homeless Worker’s Movement mobilized close to 5,000 people. They demanded more transparency about the real situation in the reservoirs and strongly opposed any increase in prices. - What are you doing here?
- I’m turning on the water. - Why? Was it off?
- Since 10 in the morning. It’s for the water rationing. You close this and that’s it.
Zero! No more pressure. We are doing relocation.
Take from one place, send it to another. They don’t call it rationing. They call it “nocturnal demand.
” Some people come ask us, we explain: Hey, this is what’s happening. Rationing is happening. ” The government says that they are only reducing the pressure.
Do you have any water at all? When you have no water it's because we’ve turned it off. They send us to turn it off.
That is rationing. We do not have water rationing. There is no neighborhood, no area, that stays 12 hours without water.
None! In a meeting with the company’s directors, she revealed that orders from her superiors prevented Sabesp from alerting the population to the need to start saving water. The state government denies it, arguing that its handling of the water crisis has always been transparent.
LEAKED AUDIO OF DILMA PENA IN SABESP'S DIRECTORS MEETING Sabesp hasn’t been in the media. I think it's a mistake. We should have been more present in the media.
But we had to follow orders. We have superiors. The crisis has shown a totally imperial side to the state government and the water company, Sabesp.
Anytime we or any other organization made a request they denied us information. They simply won’t listen to the proposals from the public. Last December we filed a request with Sabesp for access to the fixed demand contracts through the Access To Information Law.
They’re contracts signed with the largest commercial and industrial water consumers. The more they consume, the less they pay. Every month, the customer has to consume a fixed quantity.
If they don’t, they have to pay anyway. It’s a contract that encourages the use of water. Besides that, the contracts establish that consumers can only access water through Sabesp.
Our first request was denied. Sabeps claimed that publishing this information would help their competitors, that it could hurt their business. As if they don’t have a monopoly on water already.
It’s very important that we know how Sabesp is managing São Paulo’s water. It’s basic knowledge for us to understand how we got to this crisis and how we can solve it. If you and I are going to have rationing, there should be rationing for large customers as well.
The state Attorney General required Sabesp to release the fixed demand contracts. Sabesp published the contracts, but key details were redacted. The Government and Sabesp are stomping the law.
They are violating the consumer’s rights, the federal sanitation laws, and so many other rules that are there to guarantee the citizens’ rights, the right to information, the right to plan, the right to health and security, these are inviolable rights but unfortunately they are being violated. According to the Brazil’s National Water Resources Policy law, water is a public good. In situations of scarcity, priority must be given to human and animal consumption.
It also states that water management must be decentralized and have the participation of public authorities, consumers, and communities. The Cantareira system’s capacity went negative in June 2014. Even with the rains from February and March 2015, the balance is unlikely to return to positive any time soon.
The system does not have the capacity to supply water until the next rainy season. And counting on the unpredictable rains can be risky. If were in a crisis situation, why haven’t any crisis measures been taken?
What are we running away from? While implementing rationing and limiting industrial consumption could certainly weaken the economy and create political problems, a collapse in the Cantareira system would plunge not only the economy, but the whole city into chaos. How long are we going to deny reality?
If we don’t take action now, we may not have enough water in the future to meet the basic needs of the population. Sabesp announced a series of projects to secure the supplying of the Guarapiranga, Alto Tietê and Baixo Cotia systems, which should cover the demand of areas affected by the strained Cantareira System in 2015. Many of these projects involved the connection and transfer of water between the systems.
But there’s still no contingency plan to help the 5 million people who depend exclusively on the Cantareira system. Also, little have been said about measures to protect and recuperate natural water sources areas, or to diminish the amount of loss through leaks in the piping system. The only information being provided is of construction works, there is no public audiences, nothing.
It is very clear that Sabesp and the government are not willing to open up a discussion. If they didn't solve the crisis until now, I think it’s time to recognize that other people have ideas to contribute. We need more strategic management, we need to involve the public on the changes that need to happen.
The drought is silent and gradual. Denying the existence of a crisis only makes it harder for people to understand the gravity of the situation. What we’ve seen so far is a picture that is getting worse, and that will affect daily life in the city for years to come.
But the crisis offers the opportunity for transformation. Water is a right of everyone. And it's management must be transparent.
