Due to drought, the Cantareira reservoir level drops to 17,8%.
The drought typical for this time of year and the lack of regular summer rainfall are keeping the water intake of the Cantareira System in São Paulo low, with its level reaching 17,8% this Wednesday, compared to 18% recorded yesterday.
Marli Moreira - Reporter for Agência Brasil
The drought common for this time of year and the lack of regular rains in the summer keep the water intake of the Cantareira System low, whose level reached 17,8% today (16), compared to 18%, recorded yesterday (15).
To guarantee the water supply for the city of São Paulo and part of the interior of São Paulo state, totaling 9 million consumers, the São Paulo State Basic Sanitation Company (Sabesp) relies solely on the dead volume of the system, the so-called technical reserve, which is expected to last until March 2015.
Available storage is only one-third of what it was a year ago, when the level was at 54,9%. The situation is even more critical because water resources from other reservoirs where Sabesp has tried to supplement supply have also decreased. The Alto Tietê System, which two days ago indicated a level of 23,6%, has dropped to 23,4%.
The National Water Agency and the Department of Water and Electric Energy extended, on the 11th of this month, Sabesp's right to use the Cantareira System until October 31st of next year.