Decision, made in conjunction with the National Agency of Water and Basic Sanitation (ANA), aims to face the drought period and ensure water safety
The Basic Sanitation Company of the State of (Sabesp) announced the reduction of water removal from the system, one of the main reservoirs that supply the metropolitan region. The decision, made in conjunction with the National Agency for Water and Basic Sanitation (ANA), aims to face the drought period and ensure water safety.
The new water removal quota, which comes into force on September 1, will be 27 cubic meters per second, a decrease compared to the 31 cubic meters earlier. The measure was taken after the reservoir level drops to just over 35% of its capacity, classifying the system in the “restriction” category.
The joint resolution of Ana and SP Águas established four operational ranges for the Cantareira System:
- Normal: above 60%
- Attention: between 40% and 60%
- Restriction: between 20% and 40%
- Special Restriction: below 20%
In addition to the reduction of withdrawal, Sabesp is also decreasing water pressure on the distribution network at night, from 21h to 5h, in Greater São Paulo, with the aim of saving 4,000 liters of water per second. Meaninho Oliveira, Sabesp’s contractual and institutional relations director, explained that the measure is preventive and that residents with proper size water boxes may not notice the change.
The São Paulo government also announced the creation of a contingency plan and the launch of awareness campaigns to encourage the reduction of water consumption. Sabesp also reported that it plans to invest R $ 1.2 billion by 2027 in new projects to reinforce the state’s water security.
*With information from Valéria Luizetti
*Report produced with the aid of AI
