So fresh and clean! - SAAE Sorocaba

One of today's adventures was an insider's tour of the local water treatment facility in Sorocaba.  (this followed our exciting visit to the mayor's office, but I will allow others to share that story...)  This may seem like a rather mundane excursion, but for me it was quite interesting.  My brother is a transportation engineer, and we have enjoyed learning about and discussing all manner of civil infrastructure over the years.  So for me, this was pretty much awesome.  For a couple of reasons -

1. We were given a tour by some of the guys that seemed to actually operate the place.
2. We got to actually walk out along the tanks and filtration ponds.

#1 made for a tour with some interesting tidbits about the operation.  The average Sorocaban ("Sorocabino"?) uses 200 liters of water per day.  There is a reservoir 50 km away that provides the local water supply, and the lake itself is 30 km long.  I actually looked it up; here's a quick view:

There is apparently an impressive dam that attracts some visitors - this can been seen on Google images pretty quickly as well.

Aside from the technical details, I was impressed by our opportunity to see the treatment plant up close and personal.  Reflecting upon the many camping trips and sightseeing tours of my youth, I considered that a pair of fighting children could create serious problems very quickly.  Or a curious kid deciding to pull a lever here and push a lever there could incite some pretty significant confusion.  The type of thing you just don't get to do in America these days.  I would describe in more detail, but the pictures will demonstrate rather well.  Hold onto your camera!

http://www.saaesorocaba.com.br/

-MM