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THE COST OF FRESHWATER CHARGING IN BRAZIL: SUPPLIERS’ MAIN ALTERNATIVES

Artigo publicado na revista Sustainable Water Resources Management (SWAM). Teixeira, T., Veiga, K., Julien, D. et al. The cost of freshwater charging in Brazil: suppliers’ main alternatives. Sustain. Water Resour. Manag. 9, 124 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-023-00908-0

ABSTRACT
Charging for the use of freshwater raises the debate about the financial sustainability of water suppliers and the problems of social and operational efficiency in the sector. The price of raw water, which aims to avoid wasteful uses and give an idea of the value of water, introduces a new cost element to be managed by users. Given the increased operating costs arising from the implementation of raw water charging, this paper analyzes alternatives for water suppliers. We compare a #1 cost absorption scenario with the possibility of passing on to final consumers in the first block tariff, defined by volume (#2a), and the second block tariff charged by additional m3 consumed (#2b). The results show that scenario #1 reduces the availability of resources for investments, compromising the maintenance of the infrastructure and the expansion of services. Alternatively, as a natural monopoly industry, consumer pass-through is more likely. Both scenarios #2a and #2b nullify the incentive for rational use and operational efficiency, add risks to environmental sustainability and compromise the plans of the basin committee. However, in scenario #2b, the possibility of lower water consumption by households, changing to the tariff of the first block, brings back the possibilities of scenario #1. Scenario #2a, as a plausible choice, requires an accurate discussion of the social, institutional, and environmental aspects of water governance without losing attention to local particularities. To exemplify the discussion, we tested these scenarios in a Brazilian semi-arid watershed where the freshwater charging is not yet in force.

Dra. Telma C. S. Teixeira - Líder do grupo RHIOS
Bl. Karine dos S. Veiga - RHIOS,
Msc. Denis L.L Julien - RHIOS,
Dr. Frank Pavan de Souza - RHIOS, ISECENSA

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Karine Veiga,
Denis Julien,
Frank Pavan de Souza,
Telma Teixeira

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COBRANÇA PELO USO DA ÁGUA PARA O SANEAMENTO: MECANISMOS PARA INCENTIVO A EFICIÊNCIA E ATENDIMENTO AO USO MÍNIMO — FRESHWATER USE CHARGING FOR SANITATION: MECHANISMS TO ENCOURAGE EFFICIENCY AND MEET THE BASIC NEEDS

Artigo publicado na Revista de Engenharia Sanitária e Ambiental (ESA). Mai-Jun/2021, v.26, n.3, p.517-524.     https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-415220200003

RESUMO

A cobrança pelo uso da água como instrumento econômico de gestão deve orientar os usuários quanto ao valor do recurso hídrico e incentivar o combate ao uso perdulário. Metodologias recentes inserem mecanismos relacionados às boas práticas no uso da água, mensurado no saneamento por meio do indicador de perdas percentuais na distribuição. Contudo, desprezam-se as perdas ocorridas nas etapas anteriores, bem como a essencialidade do serviço para a sociedade. Usando variáveis que abarcam todo o sistema de abastecimento desde a captação, este trabalho propôs uma metodologia de cobrança que amplia e penaliza as perdas reais, ao mesmo tempo em que permite descontos decorrentes da retirada para atendimento às necessidades mais fundamentais da população. Revela-se como resultado uma equação simples e transparente, com homogeneidade nas parcelas precificadas, que pode ter a punição e os privilégios ajustados às especificidades da bacia em que seja aplicada.

ABSTRACT

Freshwater use charging as an economic instrument must guide users as to the value of water resources and encourage the struggle against wasteful use. Recent methodologies include mechanisms related to good practices in the use of water resources, measured in sanitation sector by the indicator of percentage losses in distribution. However, leakages that occurred in the previous stages are ignored, as well as the essentiality of the service for society. Using variables that cover the entire supply system since withdrawn point, this paper proposes a freshwater charging methodology that conceptually expand and penalizes real losses, while imputing discounts resulting from the water use to supply a minimum volume to meet basic needs of the population. The result is a simple and transparent equation, with homogeneity in the variables charged, which might have the punishment and privileges adjusted to the specificities of the watershed in which it is applied.

Dra. Telma Teixeira - Líder do grupo RHIOS
Dr. José Paulo S. Azevedo - UFRJ - RJ/Brasil,
MSc. Denis Luc Louis Julien - RHIOS,

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 Denis Luc Louis Julien, Telma Teixeira