Sao Paulo water crisis enters critical phase in 2015.
| Autor | Scruggs, Gregory |
Brazil's most populous state, anchored by its largest city and economic driver, has been undergoing a prolonged drought that is poised to enter a critical phase in 2015. The reservoirs that serve Sao Paulo, home to one-fifth of Brazil's population and responsible for one-third of its GDP, have been steadily drying up during the last four years. While civil authorities predicted the drought, state officials did not adequately prepare for its impacts by failing to invest sufficiently in new infrastructure and reduce water usage by citizens. As a result, Sao Paulo's main reservoir could dry up entirely by July, a prospect that has finally prompted Gov. Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB), who was re-elected in Oct. 2014, to announce water restrictions.
While Brazil is generally free of natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis, different regions have been plagued in its history by excessive drought and drenching rain. A decades-long drought in the semi-arid northeast during the 1950s and 1960s sent millions of rural migrants to Brazil's urban centers in the south and southeast. By contrast, heavy rains regularly prompt deadly landslides in hilly communities during the summer rainy season, most notably the 916 killed north of Rio de Janeiro in January 2011 (NotiSur, Feb. 11, 2011). While the northeast continues to suffer drought in the present day, that condition has finally reached a major population and economic center, raising both local and national concerns about the future of Sao Paulo.
With reservoirs at record lows, on Jan. 8 the state water company imposed fines on customers with excessive water use. On Jan. 13, a lower-court judge overruled that decision on the grounds that customers cannot be fined if the state has not publicly declared water restrictions. That impasse spurred Alckmin to admit publicly for the first time since the onset of the water crisis that de facto water restrictions have been in place, a phenomenon anecdotally reported in many Sao Paulo neighborhoods but unconfirmed by the state government.
Greater Sao Paulo's reservoirs dwindle to historic lows
In the most recent measures taken in January, the Cantareira Reservoir System has dropped to 6.3% of its total capacity. As the main source of water for 6.5 million people in greater Sao Paulo, the Cantareira it the dominant water supply in this metropolitan area of 20 million. In the last 12 months, it has lost 492 billion liters of water...
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