Brazil’s mining industry resurges seven years after brumadinho dam disaster as communities fight to protect water sources

In the rural community of Jangada, nestled in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, residents have spent over three decades building and maintaining their own water system—a remarkable story of self-reliance that now faces new threats from the resurgent mining industry.

Local resident Lorraine Nascimento recently celebrated their achievement in a YouTube video, proudly declaring that “the water belongs to us.” The community’s water independence began more than 30 years ago when residents, receiving no support from the state water utility Copasa, decided to construct their own collection and distribution system using natural springs. Led by community members like João de Sousa Cruz, families pooled their resources to purchase pipes and build infrastructure that now serves hundreds of families across the Casa Branca rural district.

“They got together and started building a system to pipe water for all the families,” recalls Cátia Patrocinia Cruz Maia, a local schoolteacher and member of the community water association. “Those who could afford it pitched in to help buy the pipes. Not a single cent came from the local government; it was all a community effort.” The system replaced their previous reliance on a local creek and is now managed entirely by a community association.

However, seven years after the catastrophic Brumadinho dam collapse that killed 270 people and devastated the region’s environment, Brazil’s mining operations are bouncing back—putting community-managed water sources like Jangada’s at risk once again.