Colombia: Capital City Water Rationing Plan in Force

On Wednesday, the Mayor's Office of Colombia's capital city established restrictions to the water service in shifts, which will officially come into effect today, in order to overcome the water supply crisis.

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Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said the measure aims to save two cubic meters of water per second of a current consumption of around 18 cubic meters, which is 11 percent of the total demand of the city, home to more than 10 million people.

The Chingaza system, which supplies 70 percent of what reaches the city and currently contains 48.5 million cubic meters (16.78 percent), is expected to reach 57.96 million cubic meters (20.13 percent) by 30 April.

The most critical state of water levels is in the Chuza and San Rafael reservoirs, which are part of the Chingaza system, according to information from the mayor's office.

The tweet reads, "Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán delivered balance on the most recent water consumption in the city: "Yesterday the water consumption was 17.39 cubic meters per second. The goal is 15." As of April 10, the level of the reservoirs of the Chingaza System was 16.63%. The goal is to reach 20.3 %."

The information added that schools, nursing homes and hospitals will have a special service during the days of water restriction and rationing, whose cuts, in general, are expected to last 24 hours each, from 08:00 local time until the same time the following day.

The Mayor's Office also called for measures to avoid wasting water until the drought aggravated in the country by the effects of the El Niño phenomenon is overcome.