Community water supply and management in rural areas of the brazilian semi-arid region

fragilities and alternatives

Abstract

This article aims to investigate collective management of rainwater supply and storage in rural communities in the semi-arid region of the Northeast. In many rural areas of Brazil, water supply has been carried out through partnerships between organized civil society, local public authorities and community associations that implement collective systems and ensure/expand the water supply. However, these management models present weaknesses and contradictions that: limit the exercise of democratic water governance in the country; remove from the State the responsibility for designing and implementing programs that enable the universalization of public rural water supply services; and maintain and deepen historical regional inequalities. Mapping and analyzing experiences of collective management and rainwater storage contribute to the development of public policies that guarantee public water supply and citizenship to the rural populations of the region.