The Stream, April 10: Water Rationing Looms in Brazil City

South America
An ongoing drought has raised the prospect of water rationing in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest city, Reuters reported. The city is home to 20 million people and will be one of the sites to host World Cup soccer games in June.

Mining companies are slowing down their investments in Chile due to high operating costs as well as power and water issues, Bloomberg News reported. Instead, miners are looking more favorably at Peru, which has the world’s second largest reserves of copper.

North America
State and federal regulators have released a water plan for California, which is still suffering one of its most severe droughts in history, the Sacramento Bee reported. The plan does not increase water allotments for agricultural or urban uses, but does allow lower water quality standards in the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta.

A long, cold and snowy winter is set to boost water levels in Lake Michigan and Huron, and forecasts predict that the lakes will rise 0.33 meters (13 inches) by July or August, MLive.com reported. If the increase does happen, the lakes will still be 0.25 meters (10 inches) below their long-term average level.

Codi Kozacek

A news correspondent for Circle of Blue based out of Hawaii. She writes The Stream, Circle of Blue’s daily digest of international water news trends. Her interests include food security, ecology and the Great Lakes.
Contact Codi Kozacek