Brazil's Sao Paulo State to Charge For Industrial Use of Untreated River Water

摘要

Sao Paulo state's Water Resources Council has approved the values and methodology for charging urban industries for using untreated water from four large rivers, a council director told BNA.rnThe council, which coordinates water management, on Dec. 10, 2009, approved resolutions from committees representing four river basins-the Alto Tiete, the Baixo Tiete, the Tiete-Jacare, and the Baixada Santista. The rivers account for up to 40 percent of the untreated water used in the state, council director Laura Peres said.rnThe four resolutions set an average cost of 1 centavo (.57 cents) per cubic meter of untreated water taken from a river; 2 centavos (1.14 cents) per cubic meter of untreated water consumed and not returned to the river; and 10 centavos (5.7 cents) per kilogram of organic waste effluent returned to a river. Some users will pay all three charges.