Gestão comunitária da água: soluções e dificuldades do saneamento rural no Brasil

The infrastructure of public services for rural areas and the outskirts of cities, on the global level, has shown the worst coverage and quality indicators. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported, in 2017, that 55% of rural inhabitants had access to safe water and only 35% had access to a safe sanitation system. In Latin America and Brazil, the fact is no different, according, as highlighted in this paper. In the country, close to 31 million people live in the countryside and depend on individual or collective solutions. Because of the low amount of data and publications on this subject, the main objective of this text is to describe this reality and highlight water supply solutions in rural areas, their importance, difficulties and challenges. We discuss the experience of Latin America and Brazil with solutions through Community Organizations for Water and Sanitation Services (OCSAS), or community water management (GCA), whose actions are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The need for protagonism and community organization is highlighted, as well as the participation of social organizations, in addition to the actions of the State and sanitation companies, to enable simplified water supply solutions for rural producers, indigenous and traditional communities. The text identifies several bottlenecks and points out suggestions for guarantee financing, expansion and continuity of community water systems.