Butterflies and waxbills flit through the Enchanted Valley just outside Rio de Janeiro’s Tijuca Forest National Park. There are fruit trees, a nearby waterfall and a commanding view out over the Atlantic Ocean. But for decades something was spoiling the idyll: the stench of raw sewage.
Electricity arrived in the late 20th century to the low-income Enchanted Valley community – which drew its name from a nearby residential project – but the utility never connected it to the city’s sewage network. Waste was contaminating the local environment and putting residents’ health at risk.
