GEO Brasil - UNEP

the state of urban and industrial areas
the state of the environment in Brazil
13 shows this situation, once the participation of households
is over 85 percent in all cases and over 95 percent in 17 of
the 25 listed cities
For the aquatic ecosystem, the most serious threats come
from the organic pollution of the water, measured by the
Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) from industrial and
household effluents, and from phosphorus dissolved in
household effluents Organic pollution of the water in Brazil
will only be controlled with the implementation of adequate
wastewater treatment systems in Brazilian cities
The concern with the presence of phosphorus in the
effluents released into aquatic ecosystems is reasonable,
since excessive loads are the main cause of eutrophisation
In the urban environment, domestic sewage discharges are
the largest source of this type of pollution Table 14 provides
information on the geographical and sectorial distribution
of estimates related to phosphorus loads in the country
The largest discharges of phosphorus can be found in the
major urban centres – São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador,
Brasília, Fortaleza, Curitiba, Nova Iguaçu and Porto Alegre
The potential phosphorus problems caused by the use of
agricultural fertilisers can in turn be found specially in
production areas in the South region of Brazil
1149 Quality of the Urban Water
in the country’s major urban and industrial areas or
surrounding areas, the rivers, basins and beaches are
severely polluted due to wastewater discharges, industrial
effluents and percolated liquids resulting from the bad
disposal of solid waste, presenting a large quantity of solids,
organic material and faecal coliforms
The creeks and streams flowing through urban areas are
generally used for open wastewater and solid waste
discharge These waterways are unfit for any type of
Table 13 - Brazilian municipalities with the highest concentrations of BOD
Municipality
Domestic
Ranking
Ranking
Industry
BOD
Domestic
(x 1000 tonnes)
BOD BOD
Industry Total
(x 1000 tonnes) (x 1000 tonnes)
Domestic
Percentage
São Paulo (SP) 1st 1st 217.810 19.875 237,685 92
Rio de Janeiro (RJ) 2nd 2nd 124,962 8,309 133,270 94
Salvador (BA) 3rd 76th 47,300 735 48,035 98
Belo Horizonte (MG) 4th 7th 45,997 2,021 48,018 96
Fortaleza (CE) 5th 18th 40,325 1,540 14,865 96
Brasília (DF) 6th 155th 35,730 360 36,089 99
Curitiba (PR) 7th 49th 29,983 957 30,940 97
Recife (PE) 8th 35th 29,600 1,129 30,728 96
Nova Iguaçu (RJ) 9th 132nd 29,557 403 29,961 99
Porto Alegre (RS) 10th 25th 28,661 1,328 29,989 96
Belém (PA) 11th 3118th 24,780 0 24,780 100
Manaus (AM) 12th 118th 23,017 490 23,508 98
Goiânia (GO) 13th 53rd 20,947 923 21,870 96
Campinas (SP) 14th 31st 19,119 1,187 19,477 94
Guarulhos (SP) 15th 14th 17,873 1,604 19,477 92
São Gonçalo 16th 64th 17,780 817 18,597 96
Tocantins (MG) 17th 1,269th 17,431 11 17,442 100
Duque de Caxias (RJ) 18th 56th 15,193 891 16,083 94
Santo André (SP) 19th 6th 14,067 2,041 16,108 87
Maceió (AL) 20th 8th 13,926 1,898 15,825 88
Natal (RN) 21st 396th 13,837 99 13,936 99
Teresina (PI) 22nd 265th 13,278 180 13,458 99
Osasco (SP) 23rd 148th 12,956 375 13,331 97
São Bernardo do Campo (SP) 24th 19th 12,821 1,538 14,359 89
Source: World Bank - 1998
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