{"id":476009,"date":"2026-06-04T14:24:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/476009\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T14:24:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:24:09","slug":"good-lord-what-a-smell-can-brazils-biggest-city-save-a-vital-source-of-water-from-sewage-bacteria-and-organised-crime-brazil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/476009\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Good lord, what a smell\u2019: can Brazil\u2019s biggest city save a vital source of water from sewage, bacteria and organised crime? | Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a small motorboat laden with water-monitoring equipment, biologist Marta Marcondes and community activist Wesley Silvestre Rosa cross Billings reservoir on the far southern edge of S\u00e3o Paulo. Bright white herons glide over the water, which is flanked by thick dark green clusters of Brazil<\/a>\u2019s Atlantic forest, as the boat heads towards one of the more polluted parts of the reservoir.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe see where sewage is entering, we see what has been deforested and how that has affected the water quality of the reservoir,\u201d Marcondes says.<\/p>\n

Marcondes and Rosa are dedicated to the upkeep of Billings, which at 127 sq km (49 sq miles) is Brazil\u2019s largest urban reservoir by surface area and volume and a vital water source for the almost 22 million people<\/a> who live in S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s metropolitan area. It also generates energy via a hydroelectric dam and plays a crucial role in flood control and irrigation; it provides a cooling effect during periods of extreme heat and people use its cleaner parts for recreation and fishing.<\/p>\n

Biologist Marta Marcondes collects water samples from the reservoir to monitor contamination levels. Photograph: Avener Prado\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Despite its importance, large areas of Billings are polluted: contaminated with household and industrial waste, pharmaceutical residues, microplastics and fecal matter. Urban planners blame neglect by local authorities, flawed water management policies and uncontrolled urban expansion.<\/p>\n

double quotation markThis problem has been dragging on for decades. If we don\u2019t do something now, we risk having a collapsed systemMarta Marcondes<\/p>\n

As the boat reaches a heavily polluted part of Billings called Grota Funda, Marcondes observes bubbles rising from the water, which she identifies as fermenting bacteria. Donning rubber gloves, she lowers a metallic collection device into the water, empties its dark contents into a bucket before taking a sample in a plastic tube.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood lord, what a smell,\u201d she says. \u201cYou could die if you drank this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcondes, who analyses water samples at the lab she runs at the nearby Municipal University of S\u00e3o Caetano do Sul<\/a>, is also the project coordinator for the local NGO Water Pollutant Index<\/a>. She notes that water quality and the reservoir\u2019s storage capacity have deteriorated over the past 10 years.<\/p>\n

A green algal bloom \u2013\u00a0typically associated with excess nutrients from sewage and urban runoff \u2013 spreads across the surface of the reservoir. Photograph: Avener Prado\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

\u201cThis problem has been dragging on for decades, and if we don\u2019t do something about it now, we risk having a collapsed system,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

In January, residents blamed S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s water utility, Sabesp, for dumping waste into the reservoir and the company was later fined by environmental authorities. Sabesp says: \u201cThe recorded incident was caused by the irregular entry of rainwater into the sewage network and the carrying of garbage, a situation intensified by the rains, which caused a hydraulic overload of the system.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the boat heads toward the Pedreira pumping station, which connects Billings to the Pinheiros River, the water thickens and turns green. Billings, which marked its 100th anniversary<\/a> last year, was built to power the growing industrial base of S\u00e3o Paulo, South America\u2019s richest city<\/a>, via the Henry Borden hydroelectric plant<\/a> that captures energy from water cascading over the Serra do Mar mountain range. Nabil Bonduki, a city council member with the Workers\u2019 party and veteran urban planner, says the redirection of polluted water from the Pinheiros and Tiet\u00ea rivers to supply the plant has turned Billings into an environmental sacrifice zone.<\/p>\n

Environmental activist Wesley Silvestre Rosa documents construction debris left inside Parque dos B\u00fafalos, near the Billings reservoir. Photograph: Avener Prado\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Roughly 1.5 million people live around Billings, many in favelas or other irregular housing, up from 110,000 in 1970, after which rural migrants increasingly flocked to Brazil\u2019s capitals in search of industrial jobs. But the pollution contributes to health problems<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccording to the S\u00e3o Paulo city climate plan, our region is one of the most susceptible places to climate change in the city,\u201d says Rosa, who lives in Jardim Apur\u00e1, a densely populated, lower-income neighbourhood on the edge of the reservoir.<\/p>\n

In 2018, authorities completed construction of Residencial Espanha, a development of nearly 4,000 public housing units for lower-income families in Jardim Apur\u00e1, but access to housing remains a critical issue in the region.<\/p>\n

Wanderley da Silva, 46, lives in the Favela da Fuma\u00e7a on the edge of Billings. His makeshift wooden home, which has a corrugated plastic roof, floods up to his knees during heavy rains. \u201cAll of a sudden it\u2019s really hot, and then it pours down,\u201d he says. \u201cEveryone knows why, after humankind destroys nature, then comes the payback.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wanderley da Silva with his son in their home in Favela da Fuma\u00e7a. During heavy rains the house on the edge of the Billings reservoir floods. Photograph: Avener Prado\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Bonduki says Billings serves as a stark warning of what S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s other reservoirs could become, especially Guarapiranga<\/a>, in the southern zone.<\/p>\n

\u201cBillings is deeply compromised, but it is not a lost battle,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Bonduki blames insufficient inspections from local authorities for the reservoir\u2019s continued degradation. \u201cIt\u2019s a political issue. It\u2019s about having a public authority that wants to do something. These days, we have satellites that can detect deforestation in real time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Illegal deforestation along the reservoir\u2019s banks, mostly to clear land for clandestine construction, increases sediment levels in the reservoir and reduces its water storage and flood-control capacity, Marcondes says.<\/p>\n

Livestock farming persists in parts of the environmentally protected watershed, raising concerns about erosion, runoff and water contamination. Photograph: Avener Prado\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Almost all of Billings\u2019 700km (435 miles) of shoreline is technically protected under local environmental laws. Yet with a booming demand for real estate in S\u00e3o Paulo, powerful local actors seek to circumvent these rules for profit. Advertisements offering plots of land and properties for sale proliferate in the region and across online social media groups.<\/p>\n

In a statement, S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s public prosecutor\u2019s office for housing and urban planning blamed \u201cthe emergence and growth of illegal land subdivisions in the water catchment area of \u200b\u200bthe southern region of the municipality of S\u00e3o Paulo\u201d, and mentioned a civil inquiry \u201caimed at investigating the structure, planning, and possible deficiencies of state and municipal bodies\u201d.<\/p>\n

A stream runs through Favela da Fuma\u00e7a before flowing into the Billings reservoir. The community lies within the protected watershed area. Photograph: Avener Prado\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

State legislation specifically prohibits heavy construction and dense urbanisation around the Billings reservoir. Yet using a drone from one of its polluted shorelines, it is possible to observe pockets of construction in cleared patches of Atlantic forest.<\/p>\n

The structures are solid and professionally built, unlike the precarious dwellings of the Favela da Fuma\u00e7a. Bonduki refers to them as \u201cclandestine allotments\u201d, speculative constructions often illegally built for future profits.<\/p>\n

The Guardian spoke to sources, who asked not to be named, who cited collusion between local land barons, dominant political networks in the region and organised crime groups, enabled by corrupt lawyers and inspectors.<\/p>\n

An abandoned car near Favela da Fuma\u00e7a. The neighbourhood experiences flooding and has limited access to infrastructure. Photograph: Avener Prado\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Those who challenge entrenched power in the region face a threat of violence<\/a>. Last year, authorities discovered bodies buried next to the reservoir<\/a> in Buffalo Park bearing signs of execution, and in 2022 a Billings activist, Adolfo \u201cFerrugem\u201d Duarte, was killed<\/a> and his body found in the reservoir.<\/p>\n

In a statement, S\u00e3o Paulo city hall acknowledged environmental crimes had happened around the reservoir, such as \u201cdeforestation of native vegetation\u201d, \u201cthe disposal of solid waste, mainly construction waste and human waste\u201d and \u201cthe clandestine sale of land plots, non-compliance with embargos and the illegal subdivision of land\u201d.<\/p>\n

It says that \u201cin partnership with the state government, [it] operates an integrated water defence operation (OIDA) focused on protecting water sources such as Billings and Guarapiranga\u201d. These operations \u201cfocus on inspection, fines, and seizures of materials and machinery, as well as the dismantling of unfinished or uninhabited constructions, based on court orders\u201d. In 2026, the note concludes, about 20 operations have already been carried out.<\/p>\n

A sign advertises land for sale on Estrada do Alvarenga, Pedreira, near Billings reservoir. Photograph: Avener Prado\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

The challenges facing Billings reservoir are becoming more urgent as S\u00e3o Paulo experiences mounting water shortages due to the climate crisis. In 2015, the Billings reservoir became part of S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s drought response, as authorities used it to help supply the city<\/a> during the worst water crisis in its history<\/a>. As a new crisis approaches, with climate-induced drought already depleting the city\u2019s reservoirs ahead of the dry season, the NGO Institute of Water and Sanitation<\/a> has warned that without planning, resilience is impossible.<\/p>\n

Now, Billings is set to play a larger role during times of scarcity, with a new infrastructure project by Sabesp. In periods of crisis, clean water will be drawn from it to help supply the city.<\/p>\n

To protect remaining green space around the reservoir, local people campaigned to create Buffalo Park, a home to 101 species of wildlife where local people can plant seeds. Matthew Richmond, a lecturer in political geography at Newcastle University and Alameda Institute<\/a> affiliate says: \u201cEnvironmental activists on S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s peripheries are fighting to salvage the green spaces that survived, in the face of continued state neglect and unmet housing demand, which drives new land occupations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosa says local people have been blamed unfairly. \u201cWe suffer from environmental racism,\u201d he says. \u201cThey blame us for the pollution, but we, the poor, black and peripheral people, keep our green spaces clean and alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

People walk through Parque dos B\u00fafalos in Jardim Apur\u00e1, which lies within a protected watershed zone of the reservoir. Photograph: Avener Prado\/The Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a small motorboat laden with water-monitoring equipment, biologist Marta Marcondes and community activist Wesley Silvestre Rosa cross…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476010,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[242,85,46,141],"class_list":["post-476009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476009\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}