Paraná state could face water shortage even with increased rainfall

Paraná reservoirs continue at dangerously low levels. Photo: Geraldo Bubniak/AEN

“If we don’t cut consumption by 20 percent, we will run out of water.” The headline is emblazoned on the homepage of water supply company Sanepar in the southern state of Paraná, which is enduring its fiercest water crisis on record — now lasting for over two years.

Though October saw above-average rainfall levels in the state, filling reservoirs up to 69 percent volume, the Paraná government decided to extend control measures for another 90 days.

A Sanepar statement issued to investors and published by news website G1 shows that the company plans on adopting a 24-hour rationing policy — 24 hours with water, 24 without — in Greater Curitiba and cities to the west and southwest of the state.

Even with the recent increase in reservoir levels, state climate analysis agency Simepar says that the La Niña weather phenomenon is once again affecting the region, which is set to cut rainfall for the coming months.

Amanda Audi

Amanda Audi is a journalist specializing in politics and human rights. She is the former executive director of Congresso em Foco and worked as a reporter for The Intercept Brasil, Folha de S. Paulo, O Globo, Gazeta do Povo, Poder360, among others. In 2019, she won the Comunique-se Award for best-written media reporter and won the Mulher Imprensa award for web journalism in 2020