Water losses: Brazil loses 39.53% of its treated water before the tap
In 2024, Brazil lost 39.53% of its treated water before it reached the consumer. See how drinking water distribution works, what physical and apparent losses are, which states and cities lose the most, the targets of Ordinance 788/2024 and who pays for losses after the meter.
By T&D Sustentável 8 min read
In this article · 8
Water losses are the difference between the water a utility produces and the water that reaches the consumer and is metered. In 2024, Brazil lost 39.53% of its treated water in distribution, according to the 2026 Water Loss Study by Instituto Trata Brasil, based on data from SINISA, the national sanitation information system. Physical losses alone came to about 4.4 billion m³, enough to supply 77 million Brazilians for a year.
In short:
- The distribution loss rate was 39.53% in 2024, almost the same as the 40.14% of 2020.
- There are two kinds of loss: physical, from leaks, and apparent, from metering errors and unauthorised consumption. In state capitals, 60% of losses are physical and 40% apparent.
- Physical losses in 2024 equal 4,800 Olympic pools a day, or 4.5 times the volume of the Cantareira System over a year.
- Ministry of Cities Ordinance No. 788/2024 sets limits of 35% to 2025, 30% from 2026 to 2032 and 25% from 2033. Only 12 of the 100 most populous municipalities already meet the 2033 target.
- After the meter, the loss belongs to the property: a leak inside the building passes through the meter and is charged on the bill.
How does drinking water distribution work?
Water travels a long way to the tap, and it can be lost at almost every stage:
| Stage | What happens | Where water is lost |
|---|---|---|
| Abstraction | Water is taken from rivers, reservoirs or wells | Leaks in intake structures |
| Treatment | The treatment plant makes the water drinkable | Water used to clean filters and settling tanks |
| Transmission | Mains carry treated water to the reservoirs | Bursts and leaks in large pipes |
| Storage | Reservoirs hold water and regulate pressure | Overflows and leaks in the structures |
| Distribution network | Pipes carry water through the streets | Visible and invisible leaks, especially in old networks with high pressure |
| Service connection and meter | The service pipe takes water to the property and the meter measures consumption | Leaks in the service pipe, meters that under-read, illegal connections |
| Building plumbing | Water reaches taps, toilets and equipment | Internal leaks, already metered and charged to the consumer |
The distribution loss rate, the most widely used indicator in Brazil, compares the water produced with the water actually consumed. Everything left along the way counts as loss, and someone pays for it: the utility, in its costs, and the consumer, in the tariff.
What are water losses?
They are the water the utility produced and did not bill. Trata Brasil sums up the causes as three: leaks, metering errors and unauthorised consumption. They fall into two groups:
| Type | What it is | Examples | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical, or real, loss | Water that leaves the system and never reaches anyone | Leaks in mains, networks and service pipes, reservoir overflows | Requires abstracting and treating more water, with more energy and chemicals |
| Apparent, or commercial, loss | Water that reaches the consumer but is not metered or billed | Meters that under-read, illegal connections, reading and registry errors | Reduces revenue and weighs on the tariff of those who pay |
In state capitals, the study estimates that about 2.3 billion m³ are lost a year: 1.4 billion in physical losses (60%) and 0.9 billion in apparent losses (40%).
Bringing losses to zero is impossible, and the study itself explains why. There is an economic limit, because beyond a certain point recovering each cubic metre costs more than it is worth, and a technical limit, set by today’s materials, tools and logistics. The target is not zero; it is an efficient level.
How much water does Brazil lose?
A lot, and for years without real improvement. The rate was 40.14% in 2020 and 39.53% in 2024. Physical losses in 2024, about 4.4 billion m³, are equivalent to:
- 77 million Brazilians supplied for a year, more than a quarter of the country’s population and more than twice the roughly 33 million people without access to water;
- 4,800 Olympic pools wasted a day;
- 16.2 million water tanks for a family of five a day;
- 4.5 times the volume of the Cantareira System, which supplies Greater São Paulo, over a year.
In the international comparison, made by the study with data from the IBNET network, linked to the World Bank, the average of 71 countries between 2021 and 2024 was 39.71%, and Brazil ranked 35th. The authors urge caution, because the data are reported voluntarily, but they point out that much lower losses are possible: New Zealand records 19.09%, and Sri Lanka, a lower-middle-income country, 25.82%.
Which states and cities lose the most water?
The North and Northeast regions concentrate the highest losses, and they also have the worst rates of water supply and of sewage collection and treatment:
| State | Distribution losses in 2024 |
|---|---|
| Alagoas | 66.90% |
| Roraima | 65.97% |
| Pará | 57.33% |
| Maranhão | 56.68% |
| Acre | 56.48% |
| Sergipe | 55.10% |
| Brazil average | 39.53% |
| Paraná | 33.40% |
| São Paulo | 32.15% |
| Federal District | 31.55% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 30.60% |
| Goiás | 27.13% |
| Piauí | 24.61%, the only state below 25% |
In the cities, the gap is even wider. Among the 100 most populous municipalities, the average was 35.56% in 2024, worse than the 31.09% of 2023; 20 were below 25%, and 14 were above 50%. Suzano (1.27%), Santos (5.35%) and Goiânia (11.45%) lead; Parauapebas (70.68%), Belo Horizonte (68.29%) and Maceió (64.05%) have the worst rates. Only four of the 27 state capitals were below 25%: Goiânia, São Paulo, Campo Grande and Teresina.
What are the loss reduction targets?
Those of Ministry of Cities Ordinance No. 788, of 1 August 2024, which revoked Ordinance No. 490/2021. It applies to municipalities that receive federal public funds or financing with federal resources, and combines two indicators, the percentage loss in distribution and the loss per connection:
| Deadline | Distribution losses | Losses per connection |
|---|---|---|
| To 2025 | Up to 35% | Up to 303 litres per connection per day |
| 2026 to 2032 | Up to 30% | Up to 263 litres per connection per day |
| From 2033 | Up to 25% | Up to 216 litres per connection per day |
With the national average at 39.53%, the country did not meet even the first bar. Only 12 of the 100 most populous municipalities met both 2033 targets in 2024, among them Goiânia, Teresina and Campo Grande. Bringing losses from 39.5% to 25% would save about 2.8 billion m³ a year, the average consumption of roughly 48 million Brazilians. Sewage collection and treatment, the other half of sanitation, are covered in sewage collection and treatment in Brazil.
And inside the company, who pays for the loss?
The property itself. As a rule, the plumbing after the meter is the responsibility of whoever occupies the property, and all water that passes through the meter is charged, whether or not it is used. The logic of losses in the public network repeats in every building: a leak in a buried pipe, a float valve that overflows, a toilet with a constant trickle and out-of-hours consumption are water bought and thrown away.
The test is the same one utilities use: compare consumption with real use and look at the meter when no one is using water. The signs and the step by step are in invisible leaks: how to find them.
When the leak exists and does not show, T&D’s electronic leak detection finds the point without breaking walls, combining geophone surveys, thermography and pressure tests. For the next leak to show up straight away, and not on the bill, TDRR remote monitoring tracks consumption 24 hours a day and alerts when something leaves the normal pattern.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between physical and apparent losses?
A physical loss is water that leaks and reaches no one, in mains, networks, service pipes and reservoirs. An apparent loss is water that reaches the consumer but is not metered or billed, because of meters that under-read, illegal connections or reading and registry errors.
Why can’t water losses be brought to zero?
Because of economic and technical limits. Beyond a certain point, recovering each cubic metre costs more than it is worth, and today’s materials, tools and logistics always leave a minimum volume of losses. That is why targets aim for an efficient level, not zero.
Which Brazilian state loses the most water?
Alagoas, with 66.90% distribution losses in 2024, followed by Roraima (65.97%) and Pará (57.33%), according to Instituto Trata Brasil’s 2026 Water Loss Study. Piauí, at 24.61%, was the only state below the 25% target.
What does Ordinance 788/2024 say?
It sets loss limits for municipalities that receive federal funds: up to 35% in distribution and 303 litres per connection per day to 2025, 30% and 263 litres from 2026 to 2032, and 25% and 216 litres from 2033. It revoked Ordinance 490/2021.
Who pays for a leak after the meter?
Whoever occupies the property. All water that passes through the meter is charged, and the internal plumbing is, as a rule, the property’s responsibility. That is why it pays to test the meter with everything turned off and to track consumption in the early hours.
Sources
- Instituto Trata Brasil and GO Associados. Estudo de Perdas de Água 2026 (SINISA, 2024), June 2026 release, in Portuguese: loss rate, equivalences, states, municipalities, capitals, international comparison and Ordinance 788/2024
- Instituto Trata Brasil: 2026 Water Loss Study, in Portuguese
- Instituto Trata Brasil: “16 Brazilian states lose more than 40% of treated water before it reaches families”, in Portuguese
- T&D electronic leak detection and TDRR
