The 18th edition of the 2026 Sanitation Ranking, published this Wednesday (18) by Instituto Trata Brasil (ITB) in partnership with consultancy GO Associados, confirmed Sabesp’s leading role in the management of basic sanitation in Brazil. The survey was based on the most recent indicators from Sinisa (National Sanitation Information System), with 2024 as the base year. In the ranking, Franca holds first place, and four other municipalities also served by the company are among the 20 best in the country.
The survey analyzes the 100 largest municipalities in Brazil by population. Once again, Franca achieved the maximum score, reaching indicators that exceed the targets established by Brazil’s Legal Framework for Sanitation: 99.46% water supply coverage and 98.91% sewage collection and treatment.
Santos ranks 4th, with 99.33% water coverage, 98.46% sewage coverage and 81.91% sewage treatment. The other three Sabesp-operated municipalities at the top of the list are Taubaté (10th), São José dos Campos (16th) and São Paulo (18th).
Among the top 20, Sabesp also stands out with 13 other municipalities: Praia Grande, São Vicente, Suzano, São Bernardo do Campo, Santo André, Guarujá, Mauá, Diadema, Barueri, Carapicuíba, Osasco, Guarulhos and Itaquaquecetuba.
Although the 2026 Ranking reflects the 2024 scenario, Sabesp’s performance has been driven by an investment cycle that intensified in the latest fiscal year. In 2025, the company carried out a record R$ 15.2 billion in works, an amount 2.2 times higher than that invested in the previous year. This contribution allowed the company to exceed all Fator-U targets, resulting in expanded access to water for more than 1.8 million people, while sewage collection reached 2.1 million new beneficiaries and treatment was extended to 3.7 million citizens.
With the creation of more than 40,000 direct and indirect jobs, these results reinforce Sabesp’s commitment to bringing forward universal access to sanitation to 2029, ensuring definitive solutions to long-standing problems.
While the 20 worst-performing municipalities in Brazil invest, on average, only R$ 77.58 per inhabitant, Sabesp maintains high investment levels to ensure network modernization. In the five municipalities operated by the company that appear among the top 20, average investment is R$ 123.80 per inhabitant.
Across the ranking as a whole, there are other Sabesp highlights. Praia Grande, for example, recorded the highest per capita investment in the country, at R$ 572.87 per inhabitant, and the city of São Paulo invested R$ 12.2 billion between 2020 and 2024, representing nearly 36% of all investment made by all Brazilian capitals combined.
The ranking also highlights the progress of municipalities served by Sabesp such as Guarulhos (48th), which jumped 13 positions after achieving universal water supply coverage (100% water coverage) and increasing sewage collection to 99.22%. São Vicente (25th) rose nine positions, driven by an investment of R$ 198.87 per inhabitant and the expansion of the sewage cycle, which now reaches 93.41% collection and 76.18% treatment. This consistent trajectory of gains is reinforced by the progress of cities such as Taubaté (+7), Carapicuíba (+5), Santos (+4), Franca (+4), Guarujá (+4) and Itaquaquecetuba (+4).
“Sabesp consolidates its national leadership by placing five municipalities among the 20 best in the country. Our goal is clear: to bring forward the targets of Brazil’s Legal Framework for Sanitation from 2033 to 2029. The 2024 results reaffirm that we are on the right path to ensure that the state of São Paulo remains the main sanitation benchmark in Brazil,” said Samanta Souza, Sabesp’s Executive Director of Institutional Relations and Sustainability.
Sewage treatment is identified by the ranking as the aspect furthest from universalization in Brazil, with a national average of only 51.8%. In this scenario, Sabesp stands apart with strong indicators. Franca records 95.98% treated sewage, and municipalities such as Santos (81.91%), Taubaté (87.16%) and São José dos Campos (88.80%) also present rates far above the average of the 100 largest cities (64.42%).
Continuing this progress, the company delivered 32 major works and 827 km of networks in 2025. Highlights include the Itapanhaú Water Transfer and the Cabuçu and Fortaleza sewage treatment plants in Guarulhos. For 2026, the acceleration plan provides for 38 new deliveries, including the second phase of Integra Tietê (R$ 8 billion) and R$ 13 billion in investments in works in the interior. On the North Coast, planned investments amount to R$ 500 million. In addition, R$ 2.4 billion will be allocated to water resilience projects, such as the Billings-Taiaçupeba interconnection.
The Sanitation Ranking by Instituto Trata Brasil analyzes the 100 most populous municipalities in Brazil based on the most recent data from Sinisa (National Sanitation Information System), with 2024 as the base year. The methodology evaluates three fundamental dimensions: Service Coverage Level, Improvement in Coverage, and Efficiency Level. The report uses indicators of water and sewage coverage, investment volume, and operational efficiency to rank cities, serving as a monitoring tool for compliance with the universalization targets established by Brazil’s Legal Framework for Sanitation by 2033.
Sabesp investments in water security
Investments made over recent years have increased the resilience of São Paulo’s water supply system. The Jaguari-Atibainha transfer, which allows water to be moved from the Paraíba do Sul basin to the Cantareira System, and the completion of the São Lourenço System are examples of works that helped increase water security in the Metropolitan Region.
There has also been reinforcement of water supply with the delivery earlier this month of pumping capacity of up to 2,500 liters per second from the Itapanhaú River basin, in the Serra do Mar, to the Alto Tietê System. Another important project already under execution is the Billings-Alto Tietê interconnection, which will allow the capture of up to 4,000 liters of raw water per second from the Rio Pequeno branch of the Billings Reservoir, in São Bernardo.
In 2025, the expansion of the Rio Grande Water Treatment Plant was also completed, increasing capacity by 500 liters per second with an investment of R$ 120 million, benefiting more than 120,000 people, along with the modernization of the Alto da Boa Vista Water Treatment Plant, with an investment of R$ 25 million.
Since Sabesp’s privatization, carried out by the Government of São Paulo in 2024, the company has been investing more than R$ 5 billion through 2027 in new water resilience works, strengthening the system’s capacity to respond to scenarios of prolonged drought and high demand.