The article highlights the visionary efforts of Asa White Kenney Billings, a North American engineer, who sought to tackle São Paulo's energy crisis during the 1920s, a major barrier to the state's industrial development. His ambitious response came in the form of the Serra Project, which aimed to fundamentally alter the region's relationship with water and energy.

Billings, contracted by the Light company in 1922, quickly emerged as a pioneering figure in energy generation systems in Brazil. Faced with a severe energy shortage from 1923 to 1924, he proposed a groundbreaking solution: to reverse the flow of the Pinheiros River, damming its waters along with those of the Tietê River in the Serra do Mar highlands. This would leverage the significant elevation difference to generate electricity at the power plant in Cubatão, now known as the Henry Borden plant.

The project began to take shape around 1927, with the reservoir completed in 1932. Billings' work laid the groundwork for a revolutionary infrastructure project that not only addressed immediate needs but also set the stage for future energy solutions in São Paulo, reflecting the city's broader ambitions in urban engineering and sustainable development.