In March 2012, Rio State Government signed a loan agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) creating PSAM (Environmental Sanitation Program of the Surrounding Municipalities of Guanabara Bay), which is coordinated by Secretary of Environment. The aim of PSAM is to contribute to the reversal of environmental degradation of Guanabara Bay providing the conditions for the implementation of basic sanitation as well as the creation of a new governance model for the Bay. The program has as a source of funds the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) with an amount of US$ 449 million 376 thousand – and there is a counterpart of the State Government in the amount of US$ 186 million 654 thousand.
The PSAM is structured in three components: Component 1 (Implementation of sewage systems); Component 2 (Institutional Strengthening of the INEA, CEDAE and Agenersa); and Component 3 (Promotion of Municipal Public Policy Sanitation and Fiscal Sustainability).
Works in progress for Component 1:
Construction of Sewage System of the Alcântara River Basin in São Gonçalo municipality.
It is in progress the construction of the Alcântara treatment station as well as the construction of 92 km of sewage collection network, 6 km of trunk collectors and 17,400 household connections in Mutondo and Galo Branco neighborhoods in São Gonçalo. The system aims to capture sewage released by households of these neighborhoods in Mutondo and Alcântara rivers and its allocation into the Alcântara treatment plant for appropriate treatment in the future. The investment made is in the amount of US$ 355 million and it will benefit a population of 165,000 inhabitants. The end of the works is scheduled for December 2018 and there will be a reduction of 1,200 liters per second of wastewater released into Guanabara Bay.
Construction of Cidade Nova´s Collector Trunk
Installation of 4.2 km of collector trunk to capture the sewage that is currently released directly into the Canal do Mangue, and its proper disposal for treatment in Alegria Sewage Treatment Plant. The trunk will capture the sewage of the following neighborhoods: Cidade Nova, Centro, Catumbi, Rio Comprido, Estácio and Santa Teresa. The investment made is in the amount of US$ 81 million and its completion is scheduled for April 2018 benefiting a population of 163,000 people and reducing by 700 liters of sewage per second released in the Guanabara Bay, which is equivalent of 24 Olympic swimming pools per day.
Works in Baixada Fluminense area will be divided into three lots (bid currently in progress).
Lot 1 – Caxias East
Lot 2 – Caxias West
Lot 3 – Irajá
Find below the details of the works planned for the 3 lots:
QUADRO INGLES
QUADRO INGLES
Works in progress for Component 2:
INEA has been adopting digital processes for its Licensing and Inspection works and acquired new equipment for its laboratory, which is responsible for the analysis of water quality in Guanabara Bay. The laboratory has recently received accreditation from National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (INMETRO). INEA performs with the support of a contracted consultancy the environmental inspection of 150 major industries located in the basin of Guanabara Bay.
Actions in progress for Component 3:
PSAM is aim to promote Municipal Public Policies for Sanitation and Fiscal Sustainability. Sanitation plans were already elaborated for the municipalities surrounding the Guanabara Bay:
• Municipal Plans executed by PSAM (6): Cachoeira de Macacu, Guapimirim, Magé, Nova Iguaçu, Rio Bonito and Tanguá
• Municipal Plans elaborated by municipalities (7): Rio de Janeiro, Itaboraí, Belford Roxo, Mesquita, Nilópolis, São Gonçalo, São João de Meriti.
• Plans to be hired: Niterói and Duque de Caxias.
A new governance model for Guanabara Bay:
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Rio state government signed a technical cooperation agreement for the recovery of the Guanabara Bay, which provides the donation of US$ 1 million from IDB and US$ 150,000 by the State government.
It is noteworthy that the reversal of environmental degradation of Guanabara Bay will be possible only from sustaine, synergistic and long-term efforts as it has already occurred with other bays in the world , such as Chesapeake Bay in Maryland (USA) and Sydney (Australia).
Among the actions of the technical cooperation are:
· The development of a new governance model for the Guanabara Bay, transparent and collaborative, which is being developed by the Brazilian Foundation for Sustainable Development (FBDS). This model requires the participation and collaboration of several government agencies, companies, academia, the third sector and society, under the coordination of a management company established to perform this task.
· An Environmental Health Diagnosis of the Guanabara Bay elaborated by the University of Maryland and KCI Technologies, the company responsible for the environmental recovery plan of the Chesapeake Bay in the United States.
· The creation of a Digital Platform so that the public can monitor the progress of environmental quality indicators and the main polluting sources of Bay. This project is being developed by the University of Maryland in the United States, which created similar platform to the Chesapeake Bay and is collaborating with the Rio state government on this project.
