The São Paulo Water Fund, created in 2007, is proving that green infrastructure is key to improving gray infrastructure efficiency and unlocking nature’s power to produce and regulate water. Green and grey infrastructure are a needed combination to meet our water security objectives.

Sao Paulo city and its surroundings, harboring 20.1 million inhabitants, is the seventh largest metropolitan region in the world. This population and the related economy, which represents 19% of Brazil’s GDP, rely on three large water supply systems, Cantareira, Upper Tiete/Cabeceiras and Upper Tiete/Guarapiranga-Billings. Land uses in these areas have a direct impact on the quality and flows of water coming into Sao Paulo’s reservoir system. Poor land-use practices in sensitive areas such as riparian zones, steep slopes and water recharge areas represent the main threat to water supplies. Impacts such as forest loss, soil erosion, nutrients loads, wastewater pollution and siltation are underway at different scales undermining the system’s capacity to serve the growing demand. Under this scenario the future of São Paulo’s water supply is very uncertain, and this is the foundation of São Paulo’s Water Funds. In the São Paulo Water Fund, both in the PCJ and in the Alto Tiête Watersheds, one of the objectives is to scale up the concept of Water Producer to assure large scale conservation and restoration of the natural vegetation cover.

The population and sectors served include 220.1 million residents in 39 municipalities; beverage bottling; pulp and paper; cosmetics and health; urban, rural and varied industrial sectors.