The Anchieta occupation is located in the district of Grajaú, in the southern region of the municipality of São Paulo. The area started to be occupied in the decade of 2010. Today, approximately five thousand inhabitants live in the community, organized in 1,050 houses.
In terms of infrastructure, most houses are built with wood and / or improvised material and half of these houses are connected to Sabesp’s public water network. Altogether there are 540 connections, leaving 500 houses. The water supply is interrupted daily, always at night. On the other hand, all respondents answered that they have plumbing in the house, for use in the bathroom, taps and sinks in the kitchen.
The main problems are the lack of connection to the network in half of the houses of the occupation and there are no public sewer systems in the community. The waste is channeled through improvised pipes that serve to remove the debris in front of the houses and streets of the community. In the areas of occupation without supply, hoses share the same space as small sewage ditches. In addition, due to the pandemic, Sabesp’s service was interrupted.
The main strategy to guarantee water is the installation of illegal connections to the public network. Residents collectively built alternative water lines. In part of the occupation, there is a community system of hydraulic pumps, small ducts and hoses for distribution between houses without sanitation coverage. Those with a network reported paying for the water bill under the social tariff system. During the pandemic, however, the collection was suspended by Sabesp, with a three-month grace period.