Bluefield’s Reese Tisdale and Keith Hays discuss Brazil’s municipal water market and the implications for new policies launched to invite private participation. The mercurial Latin American economy has attracted a number of companies willing to ride a wave of opportunity that is not for the risk-averse.

Over 200 Brazilian municipalities are already served by fully private company concessions serving nearly 10 million people. Since 2018 the federal government has pursued privatization of several major water and sewer systems (e.g., Alagoas, Rio de Janeiro) via concessions.

Approved Bill PL 4.162 mandates that all municipalities in Brazil reach universal water and sewer access between 2033 and 2040 and obligates state and local water companies to prove their financial capacity to do so. If executed, this will bring sweeping change to ownership of the country’s municipal water networks and introduce hundreds of billions in investment funding.