Cantareira reservoir level could drop to -30%.
Sabesp is seeking approval to draw an additional 116 billion liters of water from deep reservoirs, on top of the 182,5 billion liters already being drawn since July, to guarantee water supply in the state of São Paulo; this measure could leave the water source at a negative level of 30% at the beginning of the year; at the start of 2014, the system's capacity was 23%.
247 The São Paulo State Basic Sanitation Company (Sabesp) has presented a controversial proposal to guarantee water supply in the Cantareira system until 2015.
The concessionaire is seeking approval to draw an additional 116 billion liters of water from the deep reservoirs, on top of the 182,5 billion liters already being drawn since July, which are expected to run out between October and November. This measure could leave the water supply at a negative level of 30% by the beginning of the year. At the start of 2014, the system's capacity was 23%.
São Paulo also plans to use more water from other reservoirs to compensate for the shortages in the Cantareira system. Sabesp (the water and sewage company) wants to withdraw an additional 90 billion liters of stored water from the Jaguari-Jacaréi reservoirs. These reservoirs, which currently hold 82% of their capacity, will then have only 4% of their total volume.
Read here Fabio Leite's report on the subject.