Tietê River
São Paulo, Brazil · -23.52°, -46.65° · River pollution
South America's largest city turned its river into a dead, foaming channel; decades of clean-up have shortened but not ended it.
The Tietê rises near São Paulo and flows inland across the state. Through the metropolis it receives sewage from millions of people and industrial waste, and its lifeless stretch once extended more than 500 km downstream, with detergent foam piling up at weirs. A clean-up programme that began in 1992 has expanded sewage treatment and reduced the polluted length, but the urban stretch remains dead.
In the game
Tietê River flares up as Polluted water. The fix is a gesture: drag through the floating waste to sweep it up. Done right, it becomes Water cleaned ♻️. Finish all three steps of its chain in one round for a combo, or take your time in Explore mode: a place you fully restore stays green on your map for good.
🧭 Fly there and restore it▶ Play a 60-second round