(Programa 1 Milhão de Cisternas or P1MC) has assisted local people with water management. The Brazilian government adopted this new policy of rainwater harvesting in 2013. The Semi-Arid Articulation (ASA) has been providing managerial and technological support to establish cement-layered containers, called cisterns, to harvest and store rainwater for small farm-holders in 34 territories of nine states where ASA operates (Minas Gerais, Bahia, Sergipe, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará and Piauí). The rainwater falling on the rooftops are passed through pipelines or gutters and stored in the cistern. The cistern is covered with a lid to avoid evaporation. Each cistern has a capacity of 16,000 liters. Water collected in it during 3–4 months of the rainy season can sustain the requirement for drinking, cooking, and other basic sanitation purposes for rest of the dry periods. By 2016, 1.2 million RWH cisterns were implemented for human consumption alone. After positive results of P1MC, the government introduced another program named "One Land, Two Water Program" (Uma Terra, Duas Águas, P1 + 2), which provides a farmer with another slab cistern to support agricultural production. Notable examples Basilica Cistern in Istanbul, Turkey Aljibe of the Palacio de las Veletas in Cáceres, Spain Portuguese cistern (Mazagan) in El Jadida, Morocco Cistern in Silves, Portugal Matera, southern Italy Asa of Judah had built a cistern, and the prophet Jeremiah was later thrown in it after prophesying the Babylonian invasion Cistern in Genesis 37:20, 22 See also Ab anbar, Persian cistern List of Roman cisterns Stepwell Taanka Water tank Gallery References External links Old House Web - Historic Water Conservation. Reservoirs Water supply infrastructure Water conservation Archaeological features Plumbing Castle architecture