Rodovias das águas: uma análise espacial da operação pipa no semiárido paraibano

Abstract

The water’s availability is an essential factor for the maintenance and development of populations, either in the supply of their basic needs or in the development of their economic activities. The population and economic growing has accentuated water demand. Consequently the water problem has become even more important , especially before the climate change that are increasing the occurrences and frequencies of extreme events in our planet, such as floods and droughts. Therefore, water resources management is fundamental and requires a greater attention from population and public managers, mainly in lands prone to water scarcity, these including the Brazilian semiarid notably known as the driest region in the country. The semiarid regions are characterized by dry weather, lack of water in their environment, the variability of rainfalls events and the presence of soils with restrictions of use. They tend to suffer with environmental degradation, such as salinization and desertification. So, historically, numerous public policies with a focus on storage, availability and distribution of water have been developed in the region. Among them are the dams policy promoted by DNOCS and SUDENE, the Projects of transfers between basins (PISF - Integration Program of the São Francisco River), the Water Social Technologies programs (P1MC - One million cisterns program and P1 + 2 - Program one land and two Waters) conducted by ASA Brazil. However, after years of prolonged droughts, these efforts have proved to be inefficient. In response to this, the federal government created an emergency drinking water distribution program, called Pipa Operation. Apart from building and conducting a spatial analysis of the scope of Pi pa Operation in Paraiba’s semiarid, this aims at investigating, identifying and spatialising the actions of this emergency public policy in this region. The methodology of this work was the document research, mapping and spatial analysis of information regarding the Pipa Operation, provided by the Northeast Military Command (CMNE). According to the analyzed information, 134 of 170 municipalities in the region were being served by the operation. A total of 7,693 points of assistance (PA's) were identified. 962 water tank trucks were in charge of transporting water to 351,250 inhabitants, distributed throughout these municipalities. These water tank trucks were supplied by 18 catchment points, 13 of which were water sources (reservoirs), 3 Water Treatment Statio ns, a transposition channel and a well belonging to both the semi-arid region and other regions of Paraíba’s State. The results indicate that the Pipa Operation has broken with natural barriers, as well as planning units. Besides, it highlights the importance of this public policy in the supply of water to the populations of the region.