São Francisco river diversion to increase water supply in the Northeast

In a visit on Tuesday (May 14) to the São Francisco river integration project in three Northeast Brazilian states, President Dilma Rousseff said the project will be instrumental in addressing water shortage issues in the region. The day schedule included inspection visits to the project sites in São José das Piranhas (in the state of Paraíba); Jati (Ceará) and Cabrobó (Pernambuco).

“These two large-scale projects are critical – not in preventing drought, but in helping us cope with it,” Rousseff told journalists after visiting a tunnel built to transport the river waters. The president stressed the importance of t planning and investment to improve water supply in the Northeast region. “The federal government will work closely with governors, mayors, and local leaderships in planning and investing to ensure we won't be taken unawares by the lack of water. We can plan ahead to prevent that,” she said.

The Ministry of National Integration explained that the diversion project aims to ensure water security to more than 390 municipalities in the northernmost parts of Northeast Brazil, where droughts are frequent.

According to Rousseff, the broader supply of water to the population as a result of the project could become attractive for poor Northeasterners who fled the region for larger, more developed cities like São Paulo after better work opportunities. “We're not only taking water [to the population] – we're bringing the Northeast people back to their homeland. We must gear up and get stronger so we can manage safely when droughts strike,” she concluded.

Translated by Mayra Borges