Bolivia: Reservoir levels rise due to rain after sharp decline due to drought

The levels of the reservoirs that supply water to La Paz, the city that is the seat of the Government and the Legislature of Boliviaand neighboring El Alto, the second most populated in the country, increased their capacity to 49% thanks to recent rainsafter having large declines due to the drought of recent months.

“We have 49.94% of the ten reservoirs that we have in the cities of El Alto and La Paz”, which is equivalent to 28.5 million cubic meters of waterthe controller of the Public Social Water and Sanitation Company (Epsas), Jaime Gutiérrez, explained to the media.

According to the official, The tall and Peace They consume 167 cubic meters a day, so the amount of water currently available is enough for about six months, although the rains are expected to continue.

Besides, Epsas It has a “contingency plan” in place to guarantee supply in both cities, said Gutiérrez.

“The population is asked to be calm, these rains little by little the levels of our reservoirs are increasing and (we must) continue with the same purpose, to care for, preserve and raise awareness about the proper use of water. We know it is raining, but we must continue to be careful.”, he remarked.

The dam that reached the lowest level was the Milluni dam, located in a mining area, which at the end of November was at 12% of its capacity and now at 21%, said the auditor.

For his part, the municipal secretary of Water of El Alto, Gabriel Pari, told the media that the level of the three dams that feed that city rose by 17.38% thanks to the rains.

Lack of water

Pari recommended that the population make rational use of the water and “harvest” the liquid, that is, collecting rainwater to use it in tasks such as vehicle washingpatios or clothes.

The rainy season in Bolivia used to begin between October and November and lasts until March, but this year it only began in December, which caused one of the worst droughts in recent years with effects on agricultural production, especially in the west of the country.

Between the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, Bolivia recorded what was considered the worst drought in 25 years, which especially affected the department of Peace.

The decrease in the level of the reservoirs that feed the city of La Paz due to the shortage of rains and the lack of foresight of the public water management companies then caused almost a third of the population of La Paz to suffer a prolonged shortage of the liquid with rationing that was later extended to El Alto.

From that experience, the lack of rains At the corresponding times it has become a cause for alert for the population of Peace.