ECOWATER TECHNOLOGIES LTDA

After the basin of the São Francisco River, the Hydrographic Region of Parnaíba is hydrologically the second most important in the Northeast Region. Its hydrographic region is the most extensive of the 25 basins of the Northeast and covers the State of Piauí and part of the States of Maranhão and Ceará. The region, however, presents large interregional differences in terms of economic and social development as well as water availability.

Water scarcity, by the way, has historically been cited as one of the main reasons for the low rate of economic and social development. However, the aquifers of the region present the greatest water potential of the Northeast Region and can, if sustained, represent a great differential in relation to the other areas of the Brazilian Northeast regarding the possibility of promoting economic and social development.

The region occupies an area of ​​333,056 km², equivalent to 3.9% of the national territory, and drains almost all of the state of Piauí (99%) and part of Maranhão (19%) and Ceará (10%). The Parnaíba River is 1,400 kilometers long and most of the tributaries located downstream of Teresina are perennial and supplied by rainwater and groundwater.

The main tributaries of the Parnaíba are the rivers: Balsas, located in Maranhão; Poti and Portinho, whose springs are located in Ceará; and Canindé, Piauí, Uruçui-Preto, Gurguéia and Longa, all in Piauí.

The total population of the region in 2010 was 4,152,865 inhabitants, of which 35% are in the rural area. The population density is 12.5 inhabitants / km², with emphasis on the Poti hydrographic unit, where the state capital is located, which has a 92% urbanization index.

The percentage of the population supplied by water in 2010 presented an average of 91%, equivalent to the national average. However, the situation is critical in relation to the sanitary sewage network, which presents an average value of 10%, well below the national average (62%).