On the morning of Monday, 08/01, the largest event in environmental sanitation of Latin America officially began. In the morning, 20 technical projects and four round table discussions were presented.

The round table discussion entitled "Water treatment and emerging pollutants" was the subject presented by Luiz Augusto Lima Pontes, from the Institute for Inter-American Development and the Environment, Ema Klabin, Martin Afonso Penna, representative of the Brazilian association for the Alkaline, Chlorine and Derivatives Industry (Abiclor) and Pedro Mancuso, professor of Public Health at USP (the University of São Paulo).

Simultaneously, in another discussion, Sérgio Medeiros Paulino de Carvalho, consultant in economic issues at the National Institute for Industrial Property (INPI), Cristina C. Zuffo and Américo Oliveira Sampaio, from Sabesp, debated the subject "Intellectual Property"

Marta Emerich, from Cetesb, and Fábio Vital, from the Billings - Tamanduateí Subcommittee participated in another discussion on the "Application of the new legislation for the protection of headwaters".

The discussion "The necessity for expanding the macro-metropolis projects of São Paulo" included the participation of Rogério Menezes, representative from the Department of Sanitation and Watersheds, Francisco José Toledo Piza, Chief Executive Officer of the Agência da Bacia Hidráulica do Alto Tietê Foundation, Giuliano Deliberador, head of the cabinet of the Department of Water and Electric Energy (DAEE) and Reynaldo Young Ribeiro (Sabesp). Menezes layed out the scenario and the requirements up to the year 2035: "Another 60m³/s of water will be necessary to fulfill the necessities to the macro-metropolis. In order to reach this objective, the Department is mapping the headwaters for possible exploration as well as the zones with critical demands, which require greater attention. The Department is also developing a short-term agenda that covers the renewal of the authorization of the Cantareira System, expansion of the management initiative for the rational demand and use of water, among other initiatives". Piza spoke about the necessity for expanding the projects, especially those which he termed structural: transportation (air, waterways and railroads), energy (thermoelectric, wind power, oil, biofuels and small-scale hydro-electric plants) and watersheds. In order to be beneficial in an effective manner for society, the lecturer stated that initiatives in conjunction with federal, state and municipal governments are necessary. The deliberations covered the floods in São Paulo and the ways in which they could be controled, with emphasis on the construction of the Várzeas do Tietê [Tietê Floodplains] Park, which would reconstitute the floodplains around the Tietê river. "The park, which is still being constructed, will consist of green spaces in eight cities along the banks of the Tietê river. These are permeable areas capable of absorbing water in times of flooding, which can also be used for leisure activities in the dry season".

In the afternoon, another 12 presentations of technical lectures were given, including the "Application of non-destructive methods in sanitation projects", "The new Brazilian policy on solid waste disposal" and the "National Sanitation Plan", completed the agenda for the first day.  Alex Magalhães, from the National Environment Department, spoke about how this plan was developed: "the proposals were developed by the government in partnership with universities and society. The idea was to create a plan that fulfilled the necessities of the different regions of the country".

Exhibitors praise Fenasan 2011

In the afternoon at 1 p.m., the first day of Fenasan 2011 began, which had an exhibition area 50% larger than the previous year, although with no empty spaces. In fact, the exhibitors praised both the numbers of visitors as well as the high technical level of the visiting public, which in turn also showed great interest in the technical novelties presented at the Fair and in the Congress, especially those directed towards the reduction of waste, the optimization of resources in the distribution of water and the options for treating sanitary sewage.

Several of the exhibitors presented projects executed in the area of sanitation. Among them were Siemens, Tigre and Novus. Bruno de Abreu, an engineer at Siemens, spoke about the innovations created to reduce operational expenditure and, thus, also reduce expenses with energy. The engineer explained that 90% of the energy used in sanitation comes from electric motors. In order to reduce this expense, Siemens has worked with speed control, motor loading and the mechanical transmission system. With this optimized operation of systems, energy savings on the motors are as much as 50%, according to Abreu.

Seber Martinez, an engineer at Novus Produtos Eletrônicos, spoke about the benefits of automation in the sanitation sector. Martinez used two examples of projects by the company: controlling the dosage of coagulant in water-treatment stations and remote activation of pumps for capturing water. The engineer displayed examples of the good results that these changes can bring. In the case of remote activation, the change in the system reduces man hours and water loss and enables the use of inverters.

Closing of the 1st day with a lecture by Fernando Almeida

The main auditorium at the XXII Technical Meeting was crowded with congress-goers that came to see the lecture entitled "Quality of life: perspectives for 2011 - 2050", given by Fernando Almeida, who has a master's degree in Environmental Engineering and is a reference in environmental sustainability, especially as he was the Director of the Environment at Rio 2004, a commentator on the Eldorado Sustentável radio program, broadcast by the Eldorado radio station, and an editorialist for the CBN radio network.

"The life style of well-to-do Americans is not a model of the rest of the world"

In his lecture, Almeida covered the transition of the sustainability-focused world and demonstrated a revision of the concept of being able to live well by consuming less, and respecting the limits of the planet.

This posture, in his opinion, involves a new concept of economic progress, management and public policies, and even then we cannot depend on immediate changes. According to his analysis, "we are living through complicated and troubled decade, with perspectives for improvement only around 2020, including the use of new technologies, such as those directed at energy efficiency and carbon sequestration, as well as the rise of nuclear energy".

Almeida also gave a detailed perspective on the capture and distribution of water as "a great challenge, in global terms, in the very near future, which could even trigger armed conflict". He also mentioned the consequences of the use of virtual water, especially in agribusiness, with a view to the "Green Revolution 2.0", which proposes a society that consumes less water and makes better use of its land.

The lecture was concluded with a presentation of the concepts of corporate sustainability as the main path to improved quality of life of human beings on the planet. In this aspect, responsibility was attributed to companies that invest in a posture of environmental protection, and which will leave an important legacy for future generations, as well as establishing their images and creating a good relationship with the media.

At the end of the lecture, Fernando Almeida, who is an engineer that has already worked in the sanitation area, stated that he had identified greatly with the public, and despite the fact he is a native of Rio de Janeiro, he sees São Paulo as the cradle for all the important market decisions, and therefore it is the state that will surely lead the way to cultural and economic change in the quest for greater sustainability.