Extension of the water distribution network in subnormal regions in the Manaus city

Abstract

Due to the enormous socioeconomic inequality that marks the history of Brazil, the low-income population without government support uses irregular, disordered and precarious alternatives to structure their homes. Irregular land occupations are among the main types of construction in this regard and have raised numerous discussions on issues such as income concentration, land reform and land redistribution for decades. The so-called stilt houses also stand out in areas with rivers and lakes of great extension, with high rates of rainfall and flood. In these places, minimum sewage system is irregular and improvised, with pipelines that are so short that they do not even touch the river, that is, the sewage falls in cascade mixing to the waters. In river flood time, the river level rises and such dirty water invades the stilt houses, when residents start to live daily with raw sewage directly on the floor of their homes, exposed to bad smell and disease-causing agents. This problem also ends up compromising the sanitation of the entire city because during intermittent periods, clandestine connections end up sucking the water from rivers due to pressure and again polluting treated water distributed by regular supply. In these places clandestine connections must be changed for regular water distribution networks treated on the stilt houses.