By Bruno Kelly
HUMAITA, Brazil (Reuters) – Water levels in the rivers that run through the Great Amazon (NASDAQ: ) rainforest are dropping after a record drought and less rain, causing unprecedented problems for the people of Ribeirinhos who live there.
As the rivers become difficult to navigate and the water is too dirty to consume, many of the traditional rural people living along the river rely on external drinking water supplies.
Resident Francisca das Chagas da Silva said elderly people in particular are struggling because they have to walk more to get water. “We have to take it from the river banks to our homes,” he said.
Ribeirinhos usually get water directly from rivers or have combined systems – but when the water level drops dramatically, these means of supply fail.
Many residents now rely on NGOs or the state government for drinking water.
Community leader Joao Ferreira Mendonca said the riverbank is about 800 meters (0.5 miles) away from some houses, a long distance for an elderly person or someone with health problems.
“Now imagine a person under the hot sun, people with high blood pressure making this journey.
The Brazilian Geological Survey, SGB, has warned in recent days that all rivers in the Amazon basin will drop below their historic levels.
The Ribeirinhos usually live in stilt houses on the banks of the river – from where they travel by motorboats.
Another resident, Rosicleia Gomes Vieira, said the low water level makes navigation difficult and makes it impossible to transport produce to the city, as life in general becomes more isolated.
Apart from the rivers, which have long been the main means of transportation for the residents, there is a long dirt road that cuts through the dense rainforest.
Low water levels in Brazil, where wildfires are also raging, are also affecting soybean and corn shipments in central-western states such as Mato Grosso, Brazil’s number one grain-growing region.
