{"id":72944,"date":"2022-11-30T08:54:16","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T11:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=72944"},"modified":"2023-08-23T12:10:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T15:10:01","slug":"the-degradation-of-rio-de-janeiros-urban-wetlands-part-4-utility-provider-igua-to-invest-billions-in-the-regions-sewage-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=72944","title":{"rendered":"The Degradation of Rio de Janeiro’s Urban Wetlands, Part 4: Utility Provider Igu\u00e1 to Invest Billions in the Region\u2019s Sewage Treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/i><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

This is the final in a series<\/a>\u00a0of four articles about the \u201cDegradation of the Pantanal Carioca<\/a>,\u201d as Rio de Janeiro\u2019s West Zone wetlands were once known.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

With a R$7.29 billion (US$1.36 billion) offer, in April 2021<\/a>, the Igu\u00e1<\/a> consortium won the bid for 35 years of management of CEDAE<\/a>\u2019s (Rio\u2019s recently privatized water and sewerage public utility<\/span>)<\/span> block 2<\/a>\u2014which consists of Rio\u2019s Planning Area 4 (AP4), as well as the Miguel Pereira<\/a> and Paty Alferes<\/a> municipalities in the Center-South of the state. In August of the same year,<\/a> Igu\u00e1 signed the contract. They started full operation of the water and sewerage services in February 2022<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the ceremony<\/a> to celebrate the start of operations, the company\u2019s CEO Carlos Brand\u00e3o said that in the next three years, the utility provider will receive a R$681 million (US$127.18 million) investment, with R$250 million (US$46.69 million) for dredging and cleaning the lagoon complex, R$126 million (US$23.53 million) for implementing dry weather pumping stations, and R$305 million (US$57 million) for water and sewerage systems in irregular, non-urbanized areas.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the concession’s contractual commitments<\/a> is an investment of R$2 billion (US$373.5 million), with R$250 million (US$46.7 million) for the depollution of the Jacarepagu\u00e1 Lagoon Complex within three years. In 12 years, the utility provider will have to increase the percentage of treated sewage in the Baixada de Jacarepagu\u00e1 from 67% to 90%, and increase the water supply from 94.5% to 99%. Improvements must also be made to over 100 water and sewerage stations in the region and the Barra Sewage Treatment Center.<\/span><\/p>\n

On July 3<\/a>, a collective cleaning action by the Igu\u00e1 utility provider and the SOS Lagoons movement removed over 420kg of trash from the Jacarepagu\u00e1 Lagoon<\/a>. Fifteen local fishermen took part and 281kg of the solid waste removed went to a recycling cooperative. The action meant that over 60% of the plastic that would otherwise have polluted the Pombeba Island shores went to a different destination.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the event, fishermen also watched a presentation about waste disposal and the ways it can be reused. According to Igu\u00e1, over 120 tons of solid waste have been removed from the shores of the Camorim Lagoon<\/a> in the first four months of the utility provider\u2019s operation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Igu\u00e1 committed to carrying out short, medium, and long-term actions. Photo: Igu\u00e1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a press release<\/a> on the concession’s first 100 days of full operation, Igu\u00e1 informed that over 45 tons of trash had already been collected, and explained how the installation of a dry weather sewage intake (DWSI) system and expansion of the water system in irregular areas will be carried out:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn up to five years, following the environmental licensing, the forecast is that 50 catchment points and approximately 40km of DWSIs will be installed to intercept 676 liters of natural sewage per second, which are currently being dumped into five sub-basins and one micro basin in the region, leading to the Barra Sewage Treatment Center. There are important rivers within the tributaries that compose these sub and micro basins, such as the Arroio Fundo<\/a>, Muzema<\/a>, Anil<\/a>, Guerengu\u00ea<\/a>, Rio das Pedras, Rio Grande and the Taxas Channel<\/a> (Lagoinha). In addition to the DWSIs, the utility provider will install 28 pumping stations responsible for the flow up to the Barra Sewage Treatment Center. This project\u2014estimated at R$126 million (US$23.53 million)\u2014will directly benefit 200,000 residents in 69 communities around these water bodies, and will help protect 30 rivers in the region and their tributaries.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Regarding the procedure adopted by Igu\u00e1 aiming to depollute the lagoon complex, Adacto Ottoni\u2014Public Health PhD and professor in the Sanitation and Environmental Engineering Department at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (DESMA\/FEN\/UERJ)\u2014explained that an initial controlled dredging is necessary:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cControlled dredging must be carried out to specifically remove sludge, trash, sewage sludge and physical sediments. This is what Igu\u00e1 will do with these R$250 million (US$46.69 million). No river should be dredged before this is done. If so, this sewage will contaminate the Barra and Macumba<\/a> beaches, as these lagoons are full of sewage and trash. By solving the sewage problem, say in five years, we will begin to see positive effects on water quality. And only then should a wider dredging be carried out, connecting not just the Joatinga Channel<\/a>\u00a0but also the rich circulation of the Sernambetiba Channel<\/a> through the Taxas Channel, encompassing the Marapendi Lagoon from the Portela and Cortado channels that will also reach the Jacarepagu\u00e1 Lagoon. With this we will have a system by which sea water enters through the Joatinga Channel, circulates through the entire lagoon system, and leaves through the Sernambetiba Channel without risk of contaminating the beach. I have no doubt that these lagoons will become an ecological paradise.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How Can We Recover the Jacarepagu\u00e1 Lagoon Complex?<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Besides professor Adacto Ottoni, we also sought views from two other technical specialists about how the recovery of the Jacarepagu\u00e1 Lagoon Complex take place. For activist S\u00e9rgio Ricardo de Lima from the Living Bay Movement<\/a>, the depollution, not only of the Jacarepagu\u00e1 Lagoon Complex, but also of other water bodies in the city, will occur when the Rio de Janeiro municipal government enacts the Municipal Sanitation Plan<\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe legislation has provided for rainwater not to be mixed with sewage since the 1990s. So, when discussing the concept of environmental sanitation, we are also discussing sewage treatment, trash collection and urban drainage systems. Every Brazilian municipality has the duty to carry this out.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For Adacto Ottoni, the process of recovery occurs in three stages. The first consists of solving the sewage problem by installing dry weather sewage intake systems (DWSIs) in the favelas and implementing environmental education programs linked to separating waste for collection and recycling with income generation. In the second stage, dredging is necessary so that dissolved oxygen from the sea can enter the lagoons without salinization. And, in the third stage, a sewage treatment station should be installed in Barra da Tijuca, which reuses the sludge collected in the lagoons:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSludge that is retained will be put into a biodigester to generate anaerobic decomposition. With this, we will have methane, which is a combustible gas. These days, with this energy crisis, we will be able to generate gas for cooking and transportation, for example. We can also use the process of sewage biodegradation to make organic compost and use it for reforestation, as water utility Cedae does with its bed of seedlings\u2026 Now who must be present in all of this? The environmental agency.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ottoni said he has already taken the suggestion to create biodigesters inside the treatment station to the Public Prosecutors’ Office, Igu\u00e1, and other agencies. According to him, the current process is very costly and does not generate sustainable solutions, as the sludge needs to be taken out of the sewage and then transported to a landfill. Ottoni also noted that the sustainable process could turn into a tourist attraction and pointed out that there is a lack of sustainable solutions being generated:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, the utility provider wants to spend as little as possible, but [the sustainable process] would also generate a benefit. In my view these sustainable solutions are missing. This will also bring in money, tourists love these kinds of solutions. The Barra sewage treatment station could turn into a tourist attraction, as tourists like to see these kinds of processes.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Even with a lot of trash, sludge and sewage, there is still life in the rivers and the four lagoons that form the Jacarepagu\u00e1 Lagoon Complex. While navigating the waters of the \u201cPantanal Carioca\u201d that were once clean and just as Magalh\u00e3es Corr\u00eaa reported almost 100 years ago, it’s possible to see capybaras, alligators, herons, numerous species of birds and fish. The pollution in the lagoons and the environmental impacts demonstrates how environmental racism<\/a> jeopardizes the livelihoods of fishermen\u2014who have been fishing in the region for centuries. In Rio das Pedras<\/a>\u2014a favela formed by a majority population of Northeastern Brazilian origin\u2014squeezed between rivers and lagoons, residents watch their homes being constantly invaded by sewage and pollution. And if there’s no climate justice<\/a>, the tendency is that this state of things will get worse.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is the final in a series<\/a>\u00a0of four articles about the \u201cDegradation of the Pantanal Carioca<\/a>,\u201d as Baixada de Jacarepagu\u00e1, in Rio de Janeiro\u2019s West Zone, was once known.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

About the Authors:<\/em><\/p>\n

Felipe Migliani<\/a>\u00a0has a degree in journalism from Unicarioca with a focus on Investigative Journalism. Working as an independent journalist and freelance reporter at Meia Hora and Estad\u00e3o newspapers, he collaborates with the\u00a0Coletivo Engenhos de Hist\u00f3rias<\/a>, which investigates and recovers history and memories from the Grande M\u00e9ier region, and with\u00a0PerifaConnection<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Fernanda Cal\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0has a degree in journalism from Unicarioca with a focus on Popular Communication as a way of reaching a diverse public in a clear and simple manner. Two years ago, she helped found\u00a0Ag\u00eancia Lume<\/a>\u2014a communication agency producing independent journalism in Jacarepagu\u00e1, focusing on Rio das Pedras, where she was born.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Support\u00a0<\/b>RioOnWatch<\/i><\/b>\u2019s tireless, critical and cutting-edge hyperlocal journalism, online community organizing meetings, and direct support to favelas\u00a0<\/b>by clicking here.<\/a><\/b><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas This is the final in a series\u00a0of four articles about the \u201cDegradation of the Pantanal Carioca,\u201d as Rio de Janeiro\u2019s West Zone wetlands were once known.\u00a0 With a R$7.29 billion (US$1.36 […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":236,"featured_media":72946,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2663,1288,1328,3477,335,329,452],"tags":[3550,225,950,269,371,3406,2436,3549,569,75,3545,412,530,1445,535,2634,3541,373,651,370,21],"writer":[3512,3511],"translator":[3507],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-72944","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-interventionwatch","8":"category-highlight","9":"category-by-community-contributors","10":"category-climate-justice","11":"category-policies","12":"category-solutions","13":"category-rio20","14":"tag-ap4","15":"tag-barra-da-tijuca","16":"tag-biodigester","17":"tag-canal-do-anil","18":"tag-cedae","19":"tag-climate-justice","20":"tag-environmental-justice","21":"tag-igua","22":"tag-jacarepagua","23":"tag-lagoa-de-jacarepagua","24":"tag-lagoa-do-camorim","25":"tag-muzema","26":"tag-pollution","27":"tag-rio-das-pedras","28":"tag-sanitation","29":"tag-series","30":"tag-series-degradation-of-the-pantanal-carioca","31":"tag-sewerage","32":"tag-uerj","33":"tag-water","34":"tag-west-zone","35":"writer-felipe-migliani","36":"writer-fernanda-cale","37":"translator-yasmin-quaife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/236"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=72944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72944\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/72946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=72944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=72944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=72944"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=72944"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=72944"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=72944"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=72944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}