Residents of the indigenous community in João Camara, Brazil, realized a dream in early 2023. When they turned on the taps at the water points in the community, the gurgling springs that came out no longer had the bitter and salty taste that they had been used to for generations, leaving only sweetness.

The drinking water comes from the State Grid Corporation of China Brazil Brackish Water Desalination Public Welfare Project (State Grid Brazil Brackish Water Desalination Project), which is invested and constructed by the State Grid Brazil Electricity Corporation of China (State Grid Brazil). The project uses membrane reverse osmosis technology to purify groundwater, with an average daily output of 80 tons of pure water, which is sent to three nearby aboriginal communities through water pipelines for the use of more than 3,000 residents in more than 800 families.

Community leader José Carlos Tavares said that local residents could only drink well water at the earliest. Although water trucks later delivered water to the community, sanitation conditions have not been guaranteed. "In the past, our children had to struggle to adapt to the poor water quality from birth, and often got sick and had diarrhea due to water quality problems."

In addition to the poor water quality, the aborigines had to go through hardships in obtaining water in the past. Another aboriginal community leader, Jorma Barbosa, recalled that every water delivery day, the whole family had to get up in the early morning, push the trolley to the parking spot of the water delivery truck and wait in line. It took nearly six hours to go back and forth.

State Grid Brazil took over São Paulo Power and Light Company (CPFL) in 2017. The wind farms invested and operated by the company are mainly concentrated in the northeastern region of Brazil. State Grid Pakistan Electric Company learned from daily operations that residents around the wind farm generally have water problems, so it decided to carry out a public welfare project for the desalination of brackish water.

The project team comprehensively evaluated the actual degree of water shortage and community cooperation, and finally selected three aboriginal communities in João Camara City from nearly a hundred communities in the semi-arid area of the Northeast to implement the brackish water desalination project . In December 2021, State Grid Batec signed a project cooperation agreement with the Rio Grande do Norte state government, with a total investment of 9.6 million yuan. Construction will start in August 2022, and water will be successfully produced on December 31 of the same year.

According to Tang Jianchen, the person in charge of the project and assistant director of the Sustainable Development Department of CPFL Company of State Grid, the brackish water desalination project uses China's own product technology to build an intelligent water supply system, equipped with container-type brackish water desalination equipment. In order to give full play to the advantages of rich local light resources, the State Grid Pakistan Power Company also built a photovoltaic power supply system with a capacity of 50 kilowatts for the project.

"Having a water purification system has been our dream for many years." Tavares said that with the completion of the State Grid's brackish water desalination project in Brazil, the community residents have drank high-quality drinking water. "We are grateful to Chinese companies and to all those who have contributed to this project."

According to the agreement, the brackish water desalination project was officially handed over to the Rio Grande do Norte state government on February 16, which will be responsible for follow-up management and daily maintenance. For this reason, State Grid Pakistan Electric Company trained local technical personnel in advance to help them take over the project.

Chen Daobiao, general manager of State Grid Pakistan Power Company, said that State Grid will actively fulfill corporate social responsibilities while continuing to provide reliable power guarantee.

Rio Grande do Norte Governor Fatima Bezera said at the handover ceremony that Brazil-China cooperation has achieved remarkable results. Chinese companies represented by State Grid have brought advanced technologies to Brazil and made important contributions to improving local people's livelihood.Editor/Ma Xue