Implementation of the Municipal Integrated Urbanization Program in the Camaçari River Basin: socio-environmental assessment

Abstract

The disorderly urban occupation has been contributing to the degradation of the environment, with emphasis on water resources, where sewage is still dumped and becomes vectors for the proliferation of diseases. In this context is the Camaçari River, which crosses the municipality of Camaçari and stands out as an important affluent of the Joanes River Basin, responsible for the water supply of the Metropolitan Region of Salvador. Therefore, due to its importance, the Municipal Integrated Urbanization Program was implemented in the Camaçari River Basin to improve the infrastructure and sanitation of the municipality. Considering this scenario, the present study aimed to evaluate the socio-environmental results arising from the implementation of the program. The research had a descriptive nature and a quali-quantitative approach. Urban interventions were analyzed, which contained the processes of urban and environmental degradation and expanded the offer of public basic sanitation services. Also, environmental characterization was carried out through field observation protocols and physical-chemical and biological analyzes of water quality in seven sampling points distributed between the source of the Camaçari River and its mouth, which demonstrated improvements arising from the program. At the end of the study, it was verified that there was a 12% increase in water supply and 28% in sewage connections in households in the urban area of Camaçari and the consequent 18% decrease in hospitalizations from diseases related to inadequate environmental sanitation and 17% in the infant mortality rate between the years 2013 and 2017.