The aim of this article is to discuss the conflicts of jurisdiction between the different entities of the Brazilian Federation about water management, particularly since these were not determined by the resolutions of the 1988 Federal Constitution. Although the role of the different players involved was outlined in the Water Resources Law, it was only through the enactment of the Law on Basic Sanitation, updated in 2020, that the municipalities were given responsibility for the management of rainwater in Brazil.  Rainwater management currently forms, or should form, a part of the municipal planning of basic sanitation and community involvement, together with transparency, is becoming a key principle underlying the new model of local governance. The adoption of sustainable techniques and non-conventional methods of water management, based on the concept of Low Impact Urban Design and Development (LIUDD), is serving as a model for the kind of rainwater management that can allow social control together with democratic participation and the decentralization of sanitation services.

Palavras-chave: Planos Diretores. Unidades de conservação municipais. Rio das Ostras. Conflitos na gestão territorial. AbstractIn the presente work, the Director Plan of Rio das Ostras,

The purpose of this article is to carry out a content analysis around the historical influence of ancient societies’ ideas regarding sustainable water management. Ancient civilizations developed models and practices for the drainage, intake and transport of rainwater and wastewater. Despite the Roman Empire and the Moorish domination, Lisbon maintained its characteristics until the formation of the Kingdom of Portugal, undergoing an urban and sanitary revolution, which lasted until the 19th Century, when the Portuguese Royal Family moved to Brazil. Rio de Janeiro was chosen as the capital of the Kingdom of Portugal, undergoing several alterations inherited from the models and practices of irrigation techniques, hydraulic engineering and architecture of Lisbon. Data compilation in electronic spreadsheets and the use of NVivo software facilitated organizing the information and conclude that sustainable management models can be replicated as an inheritance of ancient societies.