Rivers that Supply São Paulo's Cantareira Reservoir Go from Dry to Overflowing in One Year

02/20/2015 - 09h03

After a dry spell between 2013 and 2014, the level of the Cantareira Reservoir System in São Paulo has been on the rise in the last few weeks.

On Thursday, February 19th, the system went from 8,9% to 9,5% of its capacity, according to a report released by Sabesp (São Paulo state's Water and Waste Management Company).

One of the reasons for this recent hike is the rain, which, nine days from the end of February, has already exceeded the monthly average.

Another factor that contributed to this hike was the increase in the volume of water on the rivers that supply it.

Piracicaba and Atibaia rivers, for instance, went through both drought and flooding in a year.

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The water levels of Piracicaba river went up so much that, 12 months after the worst drought in thirty years, it reached 4.32 meters on Wednesday, February 18th, getting local authorities concerned that the city by the same name was put under emergency alert - the alert is activated when the river reaches the 4.2 meter mark.

On Thursday, Piracicaba river was registered a decrease in volume, with 3.36 meters, which was enough for the alert to be taken from "emergency" to "caution" mode.

In Atibaia (64km from São Paulo) the river of the same name, a tributary of the Piracicaba river, overflowed on both Wednesday and Thursday , flooding streets of the Parque das Nações and Jardim Kanimar neighborhoods. According to the municipality, this is the first flood since 2011.

On Thursday the river reached 3.4 meters. According to the local Civil Defense, if the volume of the river increases by 0,1 meter, there is a chance the water may break into houses.

Translated by CRISTIANE COSTA LIMA

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