The Emburá community (Jardim São Pedro or Vila São Pedro) is located in the Marsilac district, in the extreme south of the city of São Paulo. The neighborhood is inserted in the Guarapiranga Basin, a region that is environmentally protected by state laws for the Protection and Recovery of Watersheds (APRM). The subdivision has existed since 1991 and has approximately 5,000 families and 1,000 households, according to information from the local Basic Health Unit (UBS) registry. Most of these households are located on the side of a road that connects the district of Marsilac to the center of the São Paulo capital.
In the case of sanitation infrastructure, there are no public water and sewage networks in the community. The connections at Jardim São Pedro are made of improvised connections, which form a small system with pipes, a hydraulic pump and hoses that extract water from a water mine (spring) located in the region.
The main socio-environmental problems in the locality are related to the material condition of the house and the lack of access to water and sanitation. There is a coexistence between masonry homes next to houses made of wood and mud. The availability of water is subject to periods of rain and drought, which impact a greater or lesser volume of water from the available mine. Regarding sanitary sewage, in addition to the lack of a public network, the residents use their own pipes that transport the waste, dumping it in the surrounding forest areas.
Among the strategies presented to guarantee access to water are the use and sharing of wells between neighbors, the existence of alternative water networks and a water extraction system from the mines are the most used practices in Emburá. It is also common, during the night, to “pull” water from the street, which is supplied by water mines and which allows the water tank to be filled with greater speed. In the case of drinking water, residents buy mineral water in gallons at the local store.