When we talk about basic sanitation, we immediately imagine water supply and sanitary sewage. However, basic sanitation includes a series of other essential services for the quality of life of a population.
According to the Law 11.445/07, we can define as basic sanitation the set of services, infrastructure and operational installations for the supply of drinking water, sanitary sewage, urban cleaning and solid waste management, and rainwater drainage and management urban areas.
for a quality water reaches the homes of residents of a certain population, it must be collected and treated so that it becomes drinkable. All the processes necessary to deliver quality water to the population are included in basic sanitation.
Basic sanitation is also concerned with evictions from a community. Therefore, it is essential that there is a system of efficient sewers to prevent the spread of diseases and contamination of the water being consumed.
For many, the urban cleaning and solid waste management do not fit into basic sanitation. However, they are critical to maintaining a healthy environment. It is essential that every city has a program for the collection, treatment and proper disposal of waste produced by the population, as well as waste found on public roads.
It is common that many cities do not have an effective program for drainage and urban stormwater management. However, it is a very important item of basic sanitation, as the drainage system avoids, for example, floods and floods, which are responsible for the transmission of numerous diseases, such as leptospirosis.
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Therefore, according to the law, we can conclude that basic sanitation is a much broader term and that all these activities are related to a main objective: to promote the health of the population.
When we are concerned about the quality of the water that is distributed, with the correct treatment of sewage and the proper management of the garbage and rainwater, we are preventing the spread of various diseases, thus ensuring a better quality of life.
In addition to ensuring an improvement in the population's living conditions, quality basic sanitation indirectly helps the environment. By giving an adequate destination to sewage and solid waste, we avoid the pollution of rivers and lakes, for example.
It is important to highlight that all cities must guarantee universal access to basic sanitation, that is, they must take these services to all homes. However, many locations in the country still do not have access to these very important services, making investments in this area essential.
By Ma. Vanessa dos Santos
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SANTOS, Vanessa Sardinha dos. "What is basic sanitation?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/o-que-e/biologia/o-que-e-saneamento-basico.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
