Six percent of the world’s population live in Latin America, with 17,843,000 km² the fourth-largest continent and home to more than 26% of the world’s water resources. Despite the relative abundance of water resources, large sections of the population have no access to clean drinking water.

Argentina and Brazil
Berlinwasser has been gathering experience on the Latin American water markets in Argentina and Brazil since the mid-1990s and has carried out a range of projects for sustainable water resource management and well management.

The rivers with the highest water content in the world have their origins in South America: 30% of the planet’s surface water flows in the Amazon, Orinoco, Sao Fransisco, Parana, Paraguay and Magdalena. South America’s “Acuífero Guaraní” is a natural underground water reserve the size of Portugal, Spain and France combined, the world’s second largest freshwater reservoir. Geographically, Acuífero Guaraní belongs to Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.

In Latin America, 87% of the population are connected to a water supply system and 78% are connected to a water disposal system. There are striking differences between urban and rural populations though: 86% of the cities have access to water disposal systems while only 52% of rural residents are connected to a water disposal system.

The greatest danger to groundwater resources is posed by heavy metals, synthetic chemicals and hazardous garbage dump sites, as well as from aquifer overuse and saltwater intrusion. The rapid pace of urbanization often leads to the creation of slums that have no access to the local water supply and wastewater disposal systems.