Water service provision
THE CITY OF SÃO PAULO AND THE CANTAREIRA
WATER TREATMENT
WATER DISTRIBUTION
The City of São Paulo
São Paulo is the richest and most populous city in Brazil, with 12 million people. It is located in the Southeast of the country, at the state of São Paulo. The city is at the center of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (SPMR). Water is provided to the entire SPMR through the integrated water network called Sistema Integrado Metropolitano (SIM). This network connects 9 water production systems to a population of 22 million people. These systems are Cantareira, Alto Tietê, Guarapiranga, Rio Grande, Rio Claro, Alto Cotia, Baixo Cotia, Ribeirão da Estiva, Rio Grande, São Lourenço. The integrated network SIM allows to regulate distribution in accordance with the different hydrological regimes of each of the 9 production systems. This project illustrates specifically the Cantareira system of water production, treatment and distribution and its immediate surroundings.
The Cantareira
The Cantareira is the largest among the 9 water production systems that are part of the SIM water network. It provides water to 65% of the population of the city of São Paulo. The urbanized area of the SPMR serviced by the Cantareira is the area in pink. This area is zone of influence (Zonas de influência) of the Cantareira, and illustrates an important feature of the SIM system. Zones of influence can move to recalibrate water provision within the distribution network when one of the production systems is weaker. Is your neighborhood within the zone of influence of the Cantareira? The water production system for the Cantareira consists of the damming of 5 reservoirs (represas): Jaguari, Jacareí, Cachoeira, Atibainha, and Paiva Castro
Water Treatment Plants
A water production system is the result of the damming of rivers being channeled to a Water Treatment Plant (Estação de Tratamento de Água - ETA). The water production system for the Cantareira consists of the damming of 5 reservoirs (represas): Jaguari, Jacareí, Cachoeira, Atibainha, and Paiva Castro. These five reservoirs are connected at open air and pumped up at the Santa Ines station before treatment. Finally, the water reaches the ETA. The ETA of the Cantareira system is called Guaraú.
Adduction pipes
Once water is treated in the ETA, it is distributed through adduction pipes to sectoral reservoirs in different points of the city. An area with dense adduction coverage is more likely to be better serviced.
Sectoral reservoirs
Water treated is distributed in the adduction pipes and stored in regional sectoral reservoirs . Sectoral reservoirs contain the water treated coming from the ETA. Locations close to a sectoral reservoir are not necessarily better served.
