O impacto da pandemia da COVID-19 no uso da água no município de Aracaju-SE

Abstract

Given the circumstances of a pandemic, with the imposition of social isolation and protective measures linked to the use of water, this research aimed to evaluate changes in water use, during the covid-19 pandemic, in the municipality of Aracaju, SE . The interruption of daily activities in industries, shops, schools and services considered non-essential, the confinement of people in their homes and the incentive to use water for hand hygiene brought a sharp increase in residential water consumption in the metropolis of Aracaju in relation to to the years 2018 and 2019. The methodology explored the hypothetical-deductive with a quali-quantitative approach. In order to respond to the proposed objectives, data collection was carried out with the DESO supply company, through macrometers, for an analysis of the volumes distributed and consumed, during the covid-19 pandemic, in the time frame from March/2020 to March/ 2021. Among the neighborhoods surveyed, José Conrado de Araújo had the highest volume of water distributed. The 13 de Julho neighborhood had the highest volume micromeasured, that is, consumed. A questionnaire was applied on the understanding of water use and sustainable practices during the pandemic, and it was found that the interviewees know the importance of its reuse, although in practice they do not. The data collected served to gather the indicators that determined the Sustainability Index, according to the methodology of Calório (1997), modified by Faccioli e Gomes (2021), which resulted in the final index of 36.54 for the Grageru/Luzia neighborhood, classified as “Bad” according to Sobral's (2012) methodology. Understanding such aspects related to water use is important to aggregate relevant information to ensure a continuous and sustainable water supply system, in the face of a pandemic.