Esgotamento sanitário: políticas públicas e gestão na cidade de Manaus – AM

Abstract

This research analyzed the spatial distribution of sewerage services and the political institutional mechanisms underlying public policies in this sector in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, seeking to understand the contradictions between the principles of universalization established in the legal framework and their implementation in urban space. The study was grounded in approaches to the production of urban space, sociospatial inequalities, and public policies, with emphasis on the public policy cycle, as well as Critical Discourse Analysis. The research adopted a quantitative-qualitative and exploratory approach, employing a literature review, documentary research, normative analysis, analysis of concession contracts, and semi-structured interviews with institutional managers and residents from different neighborhoods of Manaus. The results showed that, despite the existence of the National Basic Sanitation Policy, the Municipal Basic Sanitation Plan (PMSB), and the targets established under Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), the universalization of sewerage services has not been achieved equitably. The expansion of sanitation infrastructure has been conditioned by technical and economic feasibility, installed operational capacity, and the political visibility of interventions, favoring the selective implementation of sewer networks and the maintenance of sociospatial inequalities. The analysis of the public policy cycle demonstrated that, although concession contracts establish service coverage targets, the investments required for the implementation of infrastructure works do not constitute a direct obligation of the concessionaire, remaining subject to contractual revisions and financial adjustments. Furthermore, the definition of the areas selected for service expansion does not necessarily prioritize locations with the greatest sanitation deficits, favoring, in many cases, integration with existing sewer networks. Consequently, peripheral neighborhoods, favelas, and urban communities remain in the later stages of system expansion. The interviews revealed that institutional discourses recognize the historical precariousness of sewerage services and incorporate references to social justice, while also attributing part of the difficulties to population practices, such as resistance to connections to sewer networks, the use of septic tanks, and illegal connections. Among residents, the accounts revealed different conditions of access to the service, related to the selective provision of infrastructure, advances in wastewater treatment, the persistence of flooding, and deficiencies in service provision, inspection, and maintenance. The results confirm the hypothesis that the implementation of public policies for sewerage in Manaus is guided by technical, economic, and operational criteria, prioritizing more structured areas to the detriment of peripheral regions with greater sanitation deficits. Thus, the expansion of the system occurs in a spatially selective manner, contributing to the reproduction of sociospatial inequalities and contradicting the principles of universalization established by Brazil’s basic sanitation policy.