Brazil Government Orders Water Rationing

The water scarcity crisis in Brazil is so bad that officials are rationing the supply. 

"Brazil's Public Ministry, a federal regulatory agency, has recommended that Sao Paulo state immediately commence water rationing to avoid a 'collapse of reservoirs,'" the Los Angeles Times reported. 

Officials are not being candid about the dire nature of the dry spell. 

"The state of Sao Paulo is facing its worst drought in eight decades, threatening the water supplies for 20 million people -- but you wouldn’t know that by asking Brazil’s elected officials," Bloomberg reported. 

Brazil officials are taking a strikingly different approach to the weather compared to authorities in drought-plagued California. 

"Sao Paulo Governor Geraldo Alckmin, who is seeking re-election in October, has been minimizing the crisis for the region, which includes South America’s largest city. The reaction is a far cry from the response in drought-stricken California, where Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency and residents are being fined for watering their lawns," Bloomberg reported. 

Still, some areas of the country have already begun rationing water. 

"Sao Paulo state is already rationing water for more than 2 million people in 18 cities. The capital city’s main reservoir is now at only 12 percent of capacity, according to the water utility Cia. de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo, known as Sabesp. While the utility received a warning at the end of July that it risks running out of drinking water in 100 days, officials vow the situation is under control," the report said.

In Brazil, rainfall has been low this year, including at Sao Paulo's Sistema Cantareira watershed. "The Public Ministry says the watershed could soon run dry," the Los Angeles Times reported.  

Sabesp, the state-run water utility, is offering incentives for water users to conserve. 

"Sabesp offered [certain] clients a 30 percent discount in exchange for cutting water usage. Brazil’s heat wave and driest rainy season in decades has hurt coffee and sugar cane output at the world’s top producer of the crops as well as soy forecasts," Bloomberg reported in a separate piece. 

Check out Water Online's Water Scarcity Solution Center. 

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