Water Use in Brazil

My reaction to the documentary we watched in class was shock but it showed me the importance of water. The shock came from when it showed how corporates like Coca-Cola were abusing water resources to make money which lead to villagers with none left.  I strongly disagree with what the companies are doing because it isn’t fair to the people who can’t access their own water. In order to get the clean water back I think protesting and fighting against large corporations is an important step because it is needed for survival. In Canada, no one comes across the thought of water running out and therefore it is taken for granted. Some underprivileged countries protest for clean drinking water whereas we misuse it in many ways.  This documentary opened my eyes and made me realize how fortunate we are as it is so sad to see what others go through to get water.

Brazil has been called the Saudi Arabia of water and with fully 12 per cent of the world’s freshwater supplies. Brazils largest city, Sao Paulo is starting to run dry.  More than 11 million residents of Sao Paulo have been forced to severely ration what little water they get. Some go days without water, and others may have access water but only at specific times. The lack of water is making it very difficult for businesses to carry on as usual. For instance Nasu, a restaurant serving Japanese and Brazilian food, the water runs out everyday around noon or one o’clock. If they use too much water, they’re fines, so many businesses are affected.  Brazil is not used to such scarcity but Sao Paulo is fast getting used to the way things have to be run; there are incentives to use less water, fines for those who use too much and the possible installation of more water-efficient taps.