Only 20 neighborhoods were not affected by a lack of water in São José Sabesp reported this Wednesday (22) that around 450,000 people were affected by a lack of water in São José dos Campos during the replacement of three valves in the city's intake system. According to the company, supply is being gradually resumed and complete normalization is expected to occur by the end of Thursday (23). In an interview with TV Vanguarda, Sabesp's regional director, Emerson Santos, stated that the decision to bring forward the work, initially scheduled for Tuesday (21), was taken after a fault was identified in one of the valves during preparations for maintenance. "When preparing to carry out this intervention, we noticed a failure in one of these old valves. As an operational measure, we decided to bring forward this stoppage to guarantee work safety. If it were not carried out, we would have a greater impact, more damage to the facilities and a compromise in supply for a longer period", he stated. ? Click here to follow the g1 Vale do Paraíba and region channel on WhatsApp The valve replacement began on Monday (20), one day ahead of schedule. Since then, residents of several neighborhoods have faced a lack of water. The problem also affected businesses and condominiums, which had to use water trucks to maintain supply. During the interview, Emerson explained that the resumption of supply happens gradually due to the complexity of the system. According to him, before the water reaches the houses, it is necessary to fill the pipelines, fill the reservoirs and, only then, distribute the water to the properties. "First we load the pipelines, then the reservoirs need to gain level to start distributing the water. Each water tank in the houses also fills up little by little. It's a gradual process." Sabesp says that up to 450,000 people were affected by a lack of water in São José dos Campos and expects normalization by Thursday Reproduction/TV Vanguarda The director also asked the population to avoid storing water beyond what is necessary when the supply begins to be restored. "It is important that everyone consciously resumes using water. There is no need to rush to fill everything at once. This helps everyone to be able to reestablish the supply more quickly." According to Sabesp, in the total interruption of the system, around 70% of the city's population was affected, equivalent to approximately 450 thousand residents. The company reported that, as of Wednesday morning, around 10% of this population had already received water again, and that new regions will be supplied throughout the day. "The forecast continues to be a gradual resumption today and the system is fully restored by the end of Thursday," said Emerson. Sabesp says that up to 450,000 people were affected by a lack of water in São José dos Campos and expects normalization by Thursday Reproduction/TV Vanguarda Valves and investment The three replaced valves have already been tested and, according to Sabesp, are working normally. According to the regional director, the intervention is part of a package of R$29 million in investments to modernize the city's water collection system. "These valves bring greater safety to the installation. They are part of a modernization process that also includes the replacement of pumps and other equipment. We are working to definitively resolve historical problems." According to the company, there are no plans for other interventions of this size in the city. The installation of the new valves will allow future modernization works to be carried out without the need to interrupt the supply. Sabesp reported that it maintains around 40 water tankers in operation, with priority given to hospitals and essential services. In exceptional situations, residents can request service through the company's official channels. Sabesp says that up to 450,000 people were affected by a lack of water in São José dos Campos and expects normalization by Thursday Reproduction/TV Vanguarda Sabesp says that up to 450,000 people were affected by a lack of water in São José dos Campos and expects normalization by Thursday Reproduction/TV Vanguarda See more news from Vale do Paraíba and the Bragantina region