Lack of rain forces 25 cities in Minas Gerais to declare rationing.
At least 25 cities in Minas Gerais have already had water rationing decreed by Copasa, affecting more than 760 people, and 78 have had a state of emergency declared by Civil Defense due to the drought, most of them in the north of the state.
Mines 247 - At least 25 cities in Minas Gerais have already had water rationing decreed by Copasa, affecting more than 760 people, and 78 have had a state of emergency declared by Civil Defense due to the drought. Most of them are in the north of the state. Another 135 municipalities may enter a water supply rotation system because they are fed by rivers that are at risk.
Currently, 20 points along the state's river basins are in one of three risk stages: alert, attention, or restriction, according to the classification of the Minas Gerais Water Management Institute (Igam).
The most critical periods for water shortages used to be the months of September and October. This year, that peak has shifted to July, and at the beginning of the second half of the year, Civil Defense and Copasa intensified water distribution.
“Last year, when we began assisting those impacted by the drought in September, we served 39 cities. This year, we started in July and have reached 28 municipalities. The expectation is to increase that number significantly by December,” stated the administrative superintendent of the State Civil Defense Coordination (Cedec), Major Welvisson Gomes Brandão. His account was published in the newspaper Hoje em Dia.
Since July 5th, the Civil Defense has spent R$ 1,676 million on distributing water to communities suffering from drought. This involved 38 water tanker trucks, each with a capacity of ten thousand liters, totaling 380 liters.