Catherine Barbour
Online MSc Carbon Management 2015-2016
Brazilians lack the British obsession with weather. I often start conversations by commenting on how sunny it is, only to remember that every day is sunny in Brasilia. Talking about water is perhaps the closest equivalent. Most Brazilians have an opinion on the subject – whether about the standing water that breeds zika- and dengue-spreading mosquitoes, regional droughts, or poor sanitation.
The subject hit the international headlines last year when Sao Paulo, a city of 20 million people, nearly ran out of water. By the end of the dry season in September, the city’s main reservoir was running on dregs, or “volume morto”. Water pressure was reduced and poor households frequently went hours without supply. Thankfully, reserves have risen since then and the worst crisis was avoided. A strong El Nino has helped here (though not in southern states and nearby Uruguay and Paraguay, where 150,000 people were displaced by Christmas floods). Experts think Sao Paulo will probably need to use back-up supplies again this year nevertheless.
Cantareira Reservoir running low in 2015, photo by Evelson de Freitas, Estadão de São Paulo. Continue reading