Sabesp reduces by 16% investment to Depollute Tietê River in 2019

The company of basic sanitation of the state of São Paulo (SABESP), a state controlled by the government João Doria (PSDB), invested R $188 million in 2019 in the Tietê project, a set of initiatives aimed at the decontamination of the river. The value represents a 16% drop in the program compared to the same period of 2018, when R $225 million were invested. It is what points out the exclusive data of Sabesp obtained by GloboNews based on the Access to Information Act. According to the figures of the state, the amount invested in the decontamination of the river over the first six months of this year is also lower than the investment made between January and June 2017 (R $197.8 million). The values are updated by the national index of wide consumer prices (IPCA). Investment in the Tietê project in the 1st semester 2017-R $197.8 million 2018-R $225 million 2019-R $188 million Sabesp said in a statement that "infrastructure projects with characteristics and size of the Tietê project must be monitored in its trajectory over time". He also said that "2019 concentrates the beginning of works and, with the economic scenario of the country, bids have generated fierce disputes that make the process slower, but generate hires in values about 30% lower" and that there will be an "increase of investments In the coming years "(Read full note below). Initiated in 1992, when the management of the then Governor Luiz Antônio Fleury (PSDB), the Tietê project is a comprehensive program, which covers a number of measures, such as the expansion of the collection network and sewage treatment plants in the state. Record pollution stain The National Journal showed on Wednesday (18) that, after years of falling, the pollution stain of the Tietê River, advanced and reached 163 km, the largest extension of the last six years. The calculation is made by the SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation. In the evaluation of Gustavo Veronesi, technical coordinator of the Project observing the rivers, of the SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation, there is a relationship of cause and effect between the fall of investment in the decontamination project of the Tietê River and the increase of its pollution stain. "Whenever there was a decrease in investment, the pollution stain increased. We see no sense in lowering this investment in sanitation, as this means fewer resources used to improve the health of the population, "Veronesi explains. According to the specialist, who works directly in monitoring the pollution levels of the Tietê for 16 years, a factor that worries about the fall of investment is that generally, the pace of decrease of the stain is slower than its expansion , as verified now. "To get the river dirty, it's fast. But to clean it, it takes a long time. During the water crisis, the stain more than doubled in a year [between 2014 and 2015, there was a jump from 71 km to 154.7 km] and from there to here it was falling, year by year, very slowly. " Note SABESP "It is important to clarify that infrastructure projects with characteristics and size of the Tietê project must be monitored in their trajectory over time. The observation of short periods, under the strictly financial aspect and without context analysis, can lead to mistaken conclusions. Since 2010, R $4.125 billion has been invested in the program. The period 2017/2018 was marked by the revaluation of the program, structuring of the new bids and completion of priority works, such as the expansion of ETE Barueri, the largest sewage treatment plant in South America. The year 2019 concentrates the beginning of works and, with the economic scenario of the country, bids have generated fierce disputes that make the process slower, but generate hires in values about 30% lower. These factors will allow the increase of investments in the coming years, considering the volume of bids underway in the Tietê project, including interventions in the Pinheiros River basin. "