"There will be no water shortage in Rio, despite the serious crisis."

Brazil Agency - Despite the low level of the reservoirs, Rio de Janeiro is not at risk, at the moment, of running out of water for human consumption. This information comes from the Minister of the Environment, Izabella Teixeira, who participated today (9) in a meeting with the Governor of Rio de Janeiro, Luiz Fernando Pezão, the State Secretary of the Environment, André Corrêa, and the President of the State Water and Sewage Company (Cedae), Jorge Luiz Ferreira Briard, to discuss the management of water resources in the short and medium term.

According to the minister, the situation in Rio is not as serious as in São Paulo and Espírito Santo, but it requires awareness from each citizen to conserve water. Izabella explained that Rio de Janeiro is taking preventative measures.

"Rio is taking a series of measures, from Cedae's contingency plan to emergency investments to reduce water demand around some companies [in Sepetiba Bay] and a partnership with the National Water Agency [ANA], the federal government and the Ministry of the Environment in investments for the construction of a water security plan for Rio de Janeiro considering scenarios up to 2050."

According to the minister, the meeting is part of the federal government's strategy to develop water security plans for the four most densely populated metropolitan regions in the country: Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Curitiba. Furthermore, Izabella announced a direct partnership between Rio and the ANA (National Water Agency) to facilitate planning in the state, as well as federal funding of R$ 360 million to assist with the infrastructure projects.

Secretary André Corrêa highlighted that the state is experiencing its worst drought since the project began 84 years ago, and explained that short- and medium-term works for water management amount to R$ 930 million, to create "a structuring policy for the rest of the life of the Paraíba do Sul River basin management and to increase water supply," with R$ 360 million coming from the federal government.

According to him, the flow maneuvers in the Paraíba do Sul River generated savings of 450 million liters of water. The secretary reiterated that the priority is human consumption, but there is an emergency issue which is the supply of water to companies in the Sepetiba Bay region, where the Guandu River flows into the river.

“We are working with two situations: one, which has already progressed, involves building a 14-kilometer pipeline so that these companies can collect water that comes from Cedae [for reuse]. In our assessment, this investment must be private, since it is for their supply. And today this discussion arose about the rockfill, a stone dike, which will be built at the mouth of the Guandu River to reduce saline intrusion, that is, the entry of seawater, which hinders the operation of these companies.”

Also as an emergency measure, Cedae began carrying out works in the Médio Paraíba region to adapt the water intake at six points in the municipality of Barra do Piraí, at a cost of R$ 7 million.

In terms of infrastructure, plans include supplying reused water from the Alegria Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Duque de Caxias Refinery (Reduc); expanding the Guapiaçu River dam in Cachoeira de Macacu to benefit São Gonçalo, Itaboraí, and Niterói; adapting flood control works in the north and northeast of the state to create water reserves around Itaperuna; reinforcing the Santa Cecília dam tunnel to improve the Paraíba do Sul River diversion system; and the diversion of the Poços River to the Guandu River, which is currently under tender.

The secretary warns that the water situation is serious, but there is no need to panic and there is no need for anyone to store water at home. A meeting of the ANA technical staff with Cedae is scheduled for this Thursday (12) to discuss the projects.