By Karla Mendes
PLANALTINA, Brazil, June 14 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Surveying a field of 50,000 green peppers, Daniel de Almeida proudly explains how he “produces” all the water needed by crops and livestock on his farm on the outskirts of Brasilia, a city about to end water rationing after a severe drought.
De Almeida is one of 1,200 farmers across Brazil supported by a government-run programme that improves infrastructure on their land to boost groundwater and conserve water sources.
When water rationing was introduced in Brazil’s Federal District more than a year ago, de Almeida continued to water his crops and animals from a river source on his property. “Those who did not preserve the springs, restore native areas, replant or have a protected green area suffered in the drought,” de Almeida said, adding that farmers were not permitted to draw water from the river.
“But here, thank God, we went through the drought with water in abundance,” de Almeida told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on his 70-acre (28-hectare) property in Planaltina, Federal District, as steers grazed behind him.
World water supplies are under pressure as the planet warms and demand grows with the population, the United Nations says.
About 16 percent of Brazil’s 5,570 cities face water scarcity, data from the Ministry of National Integration shows.
In the Federal District, where Brazil’s capital Brasilia is located, water supplies will be restored to normal on June 15 – a date brought forward from December.
The district has suffered water shortages caused by low rainfall, and compounded by rapid, unplanned urban growth.
But an expanded system to supply water from the Bananal River and Paranoa Lake has plugged the gap, Governor Rodrigo Rollemberg said in May, announcing this week’s end to rationing.
By December, an additional 2,800 litres (740 gallons) of water per second will be provided to the Federal District’s 3 million people, and the same amount to the surrounding state of Goias, according to Rollemberg.
People’s efforts to save water, cutting consumption by 12-13 percent, and changes to farm irrigation methods have also been key to ending water restrictions, Rollemberg said.
“From now on we will use this precious good in a much more rational way,” he said.
