The decision to ration is a technical one, says Alckmin.
The Governor of São Paulo said this Monday, the 9th, that there is no maximum storage percentage in the Cantareira System that could trigger water rationing in the state; he informed that the issue is being discussed by Sabesp; "It's a technical decision and when it's ready, Sabesp will speak and so will we," he assured.
Camila Maciel – Reporter for Agência Brasil
The governor of São Paulo, Geraldo Alckmin, said today (9) that there is no limit percentage of storage in the Cantareira System that could trigger water rationing in the state. He informed that the issue is being discussed by the Basic Sanitation Company of the State of São Paulo (Sabesp). "It is a technical decision and when it is ready, Sabesp will speak and we will too," he declared after participating in the launch of the data from the São Paulo State School Performance Assessment System (Saresp) of 2014.
The reservoir, which supplies approximately 6 million people in the metropolitan region, rose 0,2 percentage points today, reaching 5,9% of its storage capacity, accounting for two quotas of the dead volume. Alckmin highlighted that the water crisis, which mainly affects the Cantareira system, is being managed and that there has already been a 22% reduction in demand. "It was more than 70 cubic meters per second (70 m3/s), today it is at 54 [m3/s]. If everyone conserves water, we will be able to overcome this difficult period," he assessed.
The governor reiterated that rationing is not occurring in some areas of the São Paulo metropolitan region. He explained that the water shortage is due to reduced pressure in certain areas. "There are no cases of zero pressure. What we have are pressure reducing valves [PRVs], which are not new. We already had 1,2 PRVs, today there are 1,5. They allow for significant savings because they reduce pressure at night and in the early morning," he stated.