Sanep - Serviço Autônomo de Saneamento de Pelotas

What Sanep - Serviço Autônomo de Saneamento de Pelotas does

Sanep (Serviço Autônomo de Saneamento de Pelotas) is a municipal autarchy (autarquia municipal) — a government-owned autonomous public entity — wholly owned and controlled by the Prefeitura Municipal de Pelotas in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Under the regulatory framework of Lei n. 6178/2014, Sanep holds the municipal monopoly on the four pillars of basic sanitation: water supply, sewage collection/treatment, urban stormwater drainage, and solid waste management. It serves all residential, commercial, industrial, public, social, philanthropic, and temple-category properties within the Pelotas municipality, with mandatory connection to public networks where they exist.

The entity operates a substantial physical asset base, including the Barragem Santa Bárbara reservoir (primary water source), three water treatment stations (ETA Santa Bárbara, ETA São Gonçalo, ETA Sinnott), three sewage treatment stations (ETE Novo Mundo, with ETE Engenho and ETE Simões Lopes under construction), seven pumping stations (Anglo, Castilho, Doquinhas, Farroupilha, Leste, Olvebra, Pontal da Barra), five ecopoints (JK, Laranjal, Balsa, Cerquinha, Gotuzzo), and macrodrainage channels exceeding 80 km. It supports approximately 750 employees and runs environmental education initiatives (Mudas de Saber, Sala Verde, Ecopet, Óleo Sustentável) and recycling cooperatives (nine catador cooperatives). Digital assets include a real-time monitoring dashboard for dam, canal, and rainfall data, an online service-request portal, WhatsApp and 0800 customer service channels, an AI avatar assistant ("Babi"), and augmented/virtual reality tours of treatment plants.

Sanep's revenue model combines subscription/recurring tariffs across seven customer categories (water supply, sewage, and a court-mandated separate solid-waste fee with two distinct billing codes) plus transactional fees for connections, pipe replacement, meter testing, and certificates. The GTM motion is direct-to-customer via municipal pipe infrastructure, with service acquisition effectively automatic for property owners. The entity is funded by tariff revenue supplemented by federal PAC (Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento) grants, including R$23.9 million for Areal Fundos drainage and R$56 million for broader drainage projects. Current Diretor-Presidente is Alexandre Garcia.

Name

Sanep - Serviço Autônomo de Saneamento de Pelotas

Legal name

Sanep - Serviço Autônomo de Saneamento de Pelotas

Website

https://sanep.com.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Sanep is a municipal autonomous sanitation authority providing water supply, sewage, urban drainage, and solid waste services to all properties in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, under a regulated municipal monopoly framework.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Municipal Sanitation Services

NAICS

Sewage Treatment Facilities (22132), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310), Other Nonhazardous Waste Treatment and Disposal (562219)

SIC

Sanitary Services (4950), Refuse Systems (4953), Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Solid Waste & Recycling Services Administration (BPAIACAH)

Keywords

• Water supply services
• Sewage treatment services
• Urban drainage management
• Solid waste collection
• Municipal sanitation

Headquarters

HQ city

Pelotas

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Water supply tariffs: Charges for treated water distribution to residential, commercial, industrial and public properties. Tariffs vary by property category (residential, commercial, industrial, public, social, philanthropic, temple).
2. Sewage collection and treatment: Charges for sewage collection and treatment services where sewer network exists. Connection is mandatory where network is available.
3. Solid waste collection fee (Taxa do Lixo): Separate charge for solid waste collection and final disposal. Separated from water/sewage billing per court decision. Managed through two separate payment codes.
4. Service fees: Fees for various services including water/sewage connections, pipe replacements, meter testing, certificate issuance, and other administrative services. Rates based on technical inspection.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sanep is the municipal autonomous sanitation service for Pelotas, providing four integrated pillars of basic sanitation: treated water supply and distribution, sewage collection and treatment, urban stormwater drainage, and solid waste collection and recycling. It operates the full treatment infrastructure — water treatment stations, sewage treatment stations, the Santa Bárbara reservoir, seven pumping stations, drainage channels, and five ecopoints — and delivers services directly to all residential, commercial, industrial, and public properties in the municipality. Revenue is generated through monthly tariffs differentiated by property category (residential, commercial, industrial, public, social, philanthropic, temple) plus transactional fees for connections, meter testing, and certificates.

Product overview

Sanep is a municipal autonomous sanitation service responsible for four core pillars of basic sanitation: water supply, sewage treatment, urban drainage, and solid waste management. The organization operates water treatment stations (ETA São Gonçalo and ETA Santa Bárbara), the Santa Bárbara dam reservoir, seven pumping stations for drainage, five ecopoints for waste disposal, and provides online services including bill payment, service requests, and real-time monitoring of water levels and rainfall. The company also develops environmental education initiatives including Ecopet (PET recycling into brooms), Sustainable Oil, and Mudas de Saber (school education), and employs technology such as virtual reality tours and an AI-powered virtual assistant named Babi.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Abastecimento de Água (Water Supply)

Quantifiable outcome

• Reached 25 km of cleaned channels in 2026
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered moderate, minor and core.

• UFPel (Universidade Federal de Pelotas)moderateStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 March 2026Collaboration on salinization monitoring at São Gonçalo water catchment area. Joint meeting with city government, Sanep, and Agência da Lagoa Mirim to address lock gate system issues.
• Agência da Lagoa MirimminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 March 2026Partner in monitoring salinization issues at São Gonçalo catchment area, working with UFPel and Sanep on lock gate system solutions.
• Federal Government (PAC - Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento)coreOthers · 26 November 2025R$23.9 million from General Union Budget for Areal Fundos drainage. Contract signed in Brasília. Additional R$56 million approved for Areal Fundos and Estrada do Engenho drainage projects.
• Transpetro (Petrobras subsidiary)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2025Transpetro donated five mangotes (hose equipment) for water and drainage systems to Sanep, supporting infrastructure maintenance operations.
• Federal Government (PAC Drenagem)coreOthers · 1 September 2025R$56 million in federal funding approved for drainage projects including Areal Fundos control and elevation of the Engenho dike. Projects qualified to receive government funds.
• Ecovias SulminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 31 July 2025Partnership focused on environmental education, engaging the population in proper waste disposal practices through joint initiatives.
• Recicyclean CooperativecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 July 2025Partnership for Ecopet project - cooperative will operate PET bottle recycling plant transforming bottles into brooms. Sanep received 11 equipment pieces for the facility. Usina scheduled for opening in second half of 2025.
• Municipal Recycling Cooperatives (9 cooperatives)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 May 2025Extended agreements with nine catador cooperatives with 100% increase in bursary values and operational cost coverage. Expanded from previous partnership terms.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• CASAN (Companhia Catarinense de Águas e Saneamento): Santa Catarina's state water and sewage utility — a southern-Brazil regional peer with similar climate exposure, infrastructure profile, and integrated water/sewage mandate as Sanep.
• CORSAN (Companhia Riograndense de Saneamento): State-level water and sewage utility operating across Rio Grande do Sul — Sanep's most direct peer in the same state, delivering the same four-pillar basic sanitation mandate to municipalities across the region.
• Caesb (Companhia de Saneamento Ambiental do Distrito Federal): Federal District water and sewage utility with a compact service territory analogous to Pelotas; operates treatment plants, reservoir infrastructure, and customer service at a similar municipal-autarchy scale.

Broad incumbents

• Sanepar (Companhia de Saneamento do Paraná): State sanitation utility serving Paraná with water, sewage, and solid waste services; a comparable integrated four-pillar operator with publicly-disclosed tariff, capex, and operational benchmarks.
• SABESP (Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo): Brazil's largest publicly-traded sanitation utility, providing water and sewage services across São Paulo state; a benchmark for tariff structure, regulatory exposure, and capital intensity for any Brazilian municipal sanitation operator.
• Copasa (Companhia de Saneamento de Minas Gerais): Major state-level water and sewage utility in Minas Gerais providing integrated water, sewage, and solid waste services — directly comparable business mix to Sanep at significantly larger scale.

Regional players

• Embasa (Empresa Baiana de Águas e Saneamento): Bahia state sanitation utility delivering water and sewage services to hundreds of municipalities; comparable in business model and four-pillar scope but operating in a different regional context.

Emerging players

• Iguá Saneamento: Private Brazilian sanitation utility holding municipal concessions; useful peer for understanding how private operators structure tariffs, capex deployment, and customer service technology relative to an autarchy like Sanep.
• Aegea Saneamento: Private-sector Brazilian sanitation concessionaire rapidly expanding across multiple states; relevant peer for benchmarking private-operator efficiency, digital customer engagement, and concession economics versus Sanep's autarchy model.
• BRK Ambiental: Private water and sewage concessionaire operating in dozens of Brazilian municipalities; comparable service portfolio and customer engagement model, with a focus on operational efficiency and digital service channels.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sanep---servi%C3%A7o-aut%C3%B4nomo-de-saneamento-de-pelotas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sanep - Serviço Autônomo de Saneamento de Pelotas