By Business News Americas staff reporters
From Business News Americas Webpage
Brazil's freshwater supplies are in good condition, but great care must be taken to maintain this situation, claims a report by the Brazilian water project Projeto Brasil das Águas.
Using seaplanes, the project researchers collected water samples from 1,160 points on Brazilian rivers and lakes between October 2003 and December 2004.
"Brazil's waters are, on the whole, in good condition, but as everyone knows, a large number of the cities discharge all their wastewater into the rivers, and this will [eventually] lead to the saturation of the system," the project's coordinator Margi Moss said on government news service Radiobrás.
Of the samples collected, 40% were classified as containing below average plant nutrients and being over-oxygenated, resulting in sediment with a low organic material count.
The research was designed to obtain more information on freshwater in the country, which makes up 12% of the world's total reserves. It also aimed to increase public awareness in relation to the preservation and treatment of this increasingly rare resource.
The project was supported by a number of high profile Brazilian companies and organizations involved in the use of the country's water resources. Parties involved included Petrobras, Embratel, CVRD, Chubb and the national water association ANA.
Projeto Brasil das Águas is now starting on the next phase of the project, dubbed Seven Rivers, involving presentations in riverside towns designed to educate the population on how to handle and treat local water supplies.