ABSTRACT
The Guandu river basin area, a metropolitan region of the city of Rio de Janeiro, has intense economic development and is the largest water treatment plant in the world. However, the region has a low rate of sewage treatment and water supply for periurban communities. These conditions determine an environmental fragility that results in water insecurity and overload of the Unified Health System (SUS). The source of this problem lies in the lack of integration of public policies associated with the multiple and confusing laws pertaining to groundwater use at the municipal level. To address the lack of treated water, these communities use individual alternative water supply solutions (IAS), that is, the modality of water supply for human consumption that provides for residences with a single family including their relatives, by drilling shallow domestic wells without technical guidance or monitoring by the government, thereby facilitating exposure to waterborne diseases. Despite this negative situation, periurban populations develop self-built strategies thus ensuring the minimum of water necessary for their survival. This chapter discusses the importance of groundwater for the life and resilience of these communities, outlines possible solutions, and describes those in progress.
