How do people gain access to water resources in the Brazilian semiarid (Caatinga) in times of climate change?

Abstract

Climate change is becoming an imminent reality, especially in arid and semiarid regions. Therefore, it is essential to understand the relationships between humans and aquatic ecosystems in order to devise efficient management and conservation strategies. We conducted 126 interviews using a semi-structured form to record water sources, transport strategies, and the use and treatment of water by communities surrounding four reservoirs within two drainage basins in the semiarid region of Brazil. These factors were then compared to the mean water volumes of the respective reservoirs from 2013 to 2015, a period of severe drought in that area. Seven types of water sources were considered, according to the perspectives of the interviewees: large reservoirs (dams) (43% of the citations), other smaller reservoirs (25%), rainwater (17.5%), wells (7%), waterholes (3%), bottled water (4%), and water tanks (0.5%). The water resources obtained are transported to human residences in seven different manners: actively pumped (34% of the citations), by water tanker truck (33%), distributed in pipes by local resident associations (11%), transport by animal (14%), human transport (4%), by car (2%), and by motorcycle (2%). The water is then used for domestic purposes (21%), for personal hygiene (20%), by animals (19%), in agriculture (18%), for cooking (10%), for fishing (7%), and for drinking (6%). A worrisome trend was that many local residents did not treat the water they were consuming. Climate change affects seasonal patterns of rainfall that will, in turn, determine the availability and quantities of water resources, provoking changes in the sources of water used by human populations, their strategies of access to that resource, and water-use patterns. It is necessary sustainable use of water resources based on the realities of local populations.

Avaliação alométrica e da biomassa de Melanoides tuberculata (MULLER, 1774) como ferramenta para a avaliação da qualidade ambiental de reservatórios

“…Melanoides tuberculata é uma espécie exótica já disseminada nos ecossistemas aquáticos do semiárido brasileiro, dominando facilmente ambientes degradados (Eskinazi-Sant' Anna et al 2006;Azevêdo et al 2015). Alguns estudos têm mostrado que esse molusco tem preferência por ambientes eutrofizados (Azevêdo et al 2017a;De Sousa Souto et al 2011), o que explica sua presença nos três reservatórios estudados, os quais apresentaram elevado nível de eutrofização. Mesmo com alto nível de eutrofização em todos os locais amostrados, foi possível registrar variações das medidas alométricas de M. tuberculata entre os ambientes.…”

“…Essas toxinas são reconhecidas pelos prejuízos que podem acarretar a saúde humana (Drobacet al 2013), devido a muitas apresentarem neurotoxicidade, hepatotoxicidade e possuírem a potencialidade de promover o desenvolvimento de tumores (Zhou et al 2002;van Apeldoorn et al 2007;Ren et al 2017). Esse fato se torna ainda mais preocupante diante da realidade em ambientes de regiões áridas e semiáridas, onde muitas vezes os moradores das redondezas dos reservatórios consomem essa água sem nenhum tratamento prévio, havendo ainda a venda e distribuição desse recurso sem tratamento adequado (Azevêdo et al 2017a).…”

Seasonal Preferences and Alternatives for Domestic Water Sources: A Prospective Cohort Study in Malawi

“…8,24−26 Households may rely on rainwater as a main source of water during the rainy season, but insufficient storage capacity makes it difficult to sustain an adequate quantity throughout the year. 4,9,27,28 Furthermore, the use of alternative water sources during the dry season may further be constrained by seasonal variability, including droughts, or seasonal source availability (e.g., boreholes, wells, spring). A lack of access in the dry season could lead to the supplementary use of unimproved water sources or informally vended bottles and sachets of drinking water which may not meet quality standards.…”

“…The collection of rainwater is a common alternative in settings without access to water on-site, as it allows households to collect greater quantities while expending fewer resources (i.e., time, labor). The use of rainwater for drinking has, however, been demonstrated to be significantly associated with a high risk of microbial contamination. ,− Households may rely on rainwater as a main source of water during the rainy season, but insufficient storage capacity makes it difficult to sustain an adequate quantity throughout the year. ,,, Furthermore, the use of alternative water sources during the dry season may further be constrained by seasonal variability, including droughts, or seasonal source availability (e.g., boreholes, wells, spring). A lack of access in the dry season could lead to the supplementary use of unimproved water sources or informally vended bottles and sachets of drinking water which may not meet quality standards. ,,,, Uncertainties in meeting daily water needs further compromise the quantity of water allocated to hygiene, which may imply additional health risks …”

Rainfall estimation methods in the Brazilian semiarid region: 30‐year evaluation on a monthly scale

“…The quality of rainfall data has great importance for several studies, including those focusing on water-related issues such as public water supply (Rocha and Soares, 2015;Santos and Farias, 2017), watering (Araújo et al, 2004;Gondim et al, 2018), animal water supply (Lira et al, 2017), hydroelectric power generation (Jong et al, 2018), in addition to those that focus on drought episodes analysis (de Azevedo et al, 2018;Mariano et al, 2018). In Brazil, such themes are exhaustively addressed within the limits of the Brazilian semiarid, a region, as highlighted by the Northeast Development Superintendence (SUDENE, 2017), that has conflicts over water use due to its scarcity and densely populated.…”