Impacto do turismo e renda no acesso ao abastecimento de água: caso de Juazeiro do Norte - CE.

Abstract

Information on the composition and spatial distribution of the population is essential to design a water distribution system. The characteristics of each community, their way of life and income patterns directly reflect on water consumption. The study of water demands in the urban context is very relevant, justified by the high population density in the cities. In this context of human development, environmental injustice manifests itself in a perverse way, denying, to the poor, proper access to resources, including the use of water. Understanding how water is consumed in the urban environment can help to understand the more general context regarding its consumption, in addition to support the decisions related to urban water management. The city of Juazeiro do Norte is the largest in the inland of the State of Ceará and one of the most important centers of religious tourism in Brazil, receiving about 2 million worshipers per year. Based on the assumption that there is injustice and water conflict in urban water supply, this diagnosis is intended to produce the necessary attributes to subsidize public managers in the implementation of strategies aimed at reducing inequality in the distribution of water resources, thus meeting two SDG 2030 objectives that include drinking water and sanitation and reducing inequalities. Data collected included micro-measured and distributed volumes, rainfall, temperature, income and floating population, in addition to on-site visits. It was possible to identify that there is no increase in the total volume distributed in periods of large pilgrimages, and that users living in high-income neighborhoods tend to suffer less impact compared to those located in low-income neighborhoods in periods of high tourist flow. Furthermore, it was identified that even in months without tourist flow, water consumption is directly linked to the socio-economic patterns of the population. In order to carry out an equitable and effective management of the water resource, it is necessary to map the impaired areas and to carry on initiatives that reduce the impact on the supply of the fixed population, prioritizing the low-income population, as well as the elaboration of plans in periods of increased tourist flow, guaranteeing the supply to the floating and resident population, always in balance with the available resource.