Govt. presents semi-arid water supply program

Brazil's federal government has created a water supply program to benefit the country's semi-arid regions, state news agency Agencia Brasil reported. The program, dubbed "Programa Agua Doce," will benefit 18 million residents in the north of Minas Gerais state, and nine states in the northeast, characterized by irregular rainfall and home to the country's poorest residents. In addition, although the majority of available water is underground and has high salinity. According to the environment ministry, in the last 20 years, more than 100,000 wells have been drilled and close to 2,000 desalination pumps, the majority of these are not in use. The ministry's water resources department will coordinate the program, which will target communities with low human development indicators.