The World Bank (WB) is considering financing US$128mn of a proposed US$293mn integrated water management project for metropolitan São Paulo, the bank announced in a project document.
The scheme is in response to studies that suggest the levels of water supply from within the metropolitan region itself are equivalent to those from the officially drought-stricken regions in Brazil's northern states.
Broadly speaking, the project aims to confront the problem of water supply pollution due to urban slum dwellings and to improve water management, while specifically, it intends to expand wastewater collection, transportation and treatment, and support water supply and solid waste management services.
The project's basic objectives are to "strengthen institutional capacity and improve metropolitan management and coordination in São Paulo in water resources management, water pollution control, land-use policy and basic service provision, protecting and improving the quality and reliability of the region's water resources and potable supplies, and to improve the quality of life of the poorest populations residing in target areas of the region's major urban river basins," according to the document.
The bank recognizes "a need for a vehicle which brings together state and municipal government interventions designed to reverse the deterioration in the water bodies, improve land-use planning and control, increase the living conditions of the peri-urban poor residing in the reservoir basins, and strengthen and consolidate metropolitan institutional capacity in these fields," stated the report.
Investment in the São Paulo metropolitan area is urgently needed due to the enormous expansion of slum areas in the city over the last 30 years. Unstructured slum dwellings are directly polluting the Guarapiranga and Billings reservoirs, which jointly provide 28% of the city's potable water, serving some 5.4mn people.
Given Brazil's energy dependence upon hydroelectric power generation, water management in the period leading up to 2009 - when an energy crisis is expected to hit the country - is of vital importance.
Metropolitan São Paulo currently imports half of its potable water supply from neighboring river systems, which, according to the WB report, is a contentious issue, considering the needs presented by other municipalities closer to these sources.
The bank is scheduled to review the loan on July 31. If approved, São Paulo state would contribute with another US$165mn.