The heavy rains that have hit the state of São Paulo since December last year have improved the level of the reservoirs. Mainly from Cantareira, the system that supplies the Greater São Paulo region and which today was operating at 48.5% of its capacity. A month ago, the reservoir level was at 38.3%, at an alert level. This is what the situation of the springs indicates, which is published daily on the website of the Basic Sanitation Company of the State of São Paulo (Sabesp). Despite still being far from the normal level, which is established above 60%, today Cantareira operates at a attention level, a much better situation than there was a month ago. The situation is also much more comfortable than a year ago, when the system was operating at 29.6% of its capacity. From the 1st of January until today (16th), the Cantareira gained 6.3% of its capacity, always varying positively each day. The maximum capacity of the Cantareira System (useful volume, without considering the technical reserve) is 982 billion liters. Today, this usable volume was at 476.3 billion liters. This is the highest volume operated by the system since January 2017, when Cantareira had about 49.6% of its capacity. Other systems In addition to Cantareira, other systems in São Paulo are operating at good levels for the month. The Alto Tietê reservoir has been operating at a level of 51.2%. Guarapiranga with a level close to 80% and Cotia with a level of almost 68%. The Rio Grande is in the best situation, operating above 102% of its level. São Lourenço is at 98.7%. The worst situation is in Rio Claro, with 41.9% of its capacity. Added to all the systems, the level of the springs reached 57.5% today. Sought by Agência Brasil, Sabesp informed “that the rainy season benefited the Integrated Metropolitan System, which is currently operating at 57.5% of capacity, a level higher than the 45.8% of 2022”. “So, like last year, there is no risk of water shortages in the RMSP [região metropolitana de São Paulo] in this period. But the company continues to advise on the importance of the conscious use of water by the population”, said Sabesp, through a note. Levels The Cantareira System’s water collection is conditioned to the water storage level of the source observed on the last day of each month. Five lanes were created, defined by a joint resolution by the National Water and Basic Sanitation Agency (ANA) and the Department of Water and Electric Energy (DAEE), in 2017, and which must be followed by Sabesp. The five levels created by the resolution are: normal, when the reservoir level is equal to or greater than 60%; attention, when equal to or greater than 40% and less than 60%; alert, when it is greater than 30% and less than 40%; restriction, when it is greater than 20% and less than 30%; and special, when the accumulated volume is less than 20%. These ranges guide the system’s water withdrawal limits. As on the last December 31st, the Cantareira System was at 42.2% of its total capacity, it is currently operating in the attention phase – a phase that must be maintained if, on January 31st, it maintains its level between 40% and 60%.
Agência Brasil
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