Low water levels in the Amazon rivers bring new challenges to local people By Reuters

Written by Bruno Kelly

HUMAITA, Brazil (Reuters) – Water levels in the rivers that run through the Amazon rainforest (NASDAQ:

As the rivers became more difficult to navigate and the water too polluted to drink, most of the rural people living along the rivers depended on external drinking water.

Francisca das Chagas da Silva, a resident, said that the elderly are especially burdened because they have to walk a lot to collect water. “We have to carry it from the river bank to the homes,” he said.

Ribeirinhos usually get water directly from rivers or have connected systems – but these supply methods fail when water levels drop too low.

Now, many residents rely on non-governmental organizations or the state government to get drinking water.

Joao Ferreira Mendonca, a community leader, said the river bank is 800 meters (0.5 miles) from other homes, a long distance for an elderly person or someone with health problems.

“Now think of a person who gets sunburned, people with high blood pressure, making this trip,” he said.

The Brazilian Geological Service, SGB, warned in recent days that all the rivers in the Amazon region were expected to drop below their historical levels.

The Ribeirinhos usually live on the banks of rivers in settlements – from where they travel by motorized boats.

Rosicleia Gomes Vieira, another resident, said that life is very normal because the low water makes it difficult to travel and it is impossible to take produce to the city.

Apart from the rivers, which have long been a means of transportation for the inhabitants, there is a long dirt road that cuts through the dense forest.

In Brazil, where wildfires have broken out, low water levels are also affecting shipments of soybeans and corn to midwestern states such as Mato Grosso, Brazil's top grain-growing region.