Atuação da seca do Nordeste sobre o abastecimento de água na cidade de Seabra (BA)

Abstract

Water scarcity and low quality of water for human consumption is a very evident problem worldwide. In Brazil, where there is a high percentage of fresh water, there is an irregular distribution, which implies the supply of drinking water in certain regions, such as the Northeast, especially in the semiarid, where drought behaves like a natural disaster. The effects of this phenomenon are reflected in the social structure, considering that the affected population did not have the necessary structures to live with the consequences generated, which made the State act historically applying and / or suggesting alternatives that are not always effective. The referential research of an explanatory nature endeavors to understand how the problem of drought is constructed and to expose its performance on the city of Seabra (BA), by analyzing the quantity and quality of water resources available for public supply, including rural areas. For this accomplishment, interviews were applied to bodies destined to the water supply and questionnaires to students of the IFBA Campus Seabra, belonging to other cities of Chapada Diamantina, territory to which Seabra belongs, and to rural areas of the municipality in question, in order to outline perspectives on the quality of the water consumed and to establish a comparison between the territory and the city. Therefore, it was found that drought in the municipality of Seabra is a recurring issue, given the low rainfall and high temperatures, which negatively affects access to water, especially with regard to rural areas, which deal with not only with the low water supply but also with the low quality of the resource. As for the water offered by the bodies interviewed, the parameters and standards for quality are within what is legally provided, however, the respondents' perception is not consistent, since it was negative. In addition, some alternatives of coexistence with drought have been identified that are applicable to the reality of Seabra, but that must be adapted to meet the specificities of the region.