Authorities in Bogotá, Colombia, have lifted water rationing restrictions, according to Colombia Reports.
"After a year, and thanks to the commitment of the entire city, the most serious water crisis in the history of Bogotá is over," Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said in a speech, lifting the restrictions on April 11.
Bogotá relies on the reservoir system in the Chingaza National Park to the northeast of the city. Water levels there had reached as low as 16%, and experts recommended rationing until levels reached 70% to 80%. However, the restrictions were lifted when levels were only at 40%.
Rationing began in the spring of 2024, affecting 9 million residents. The local government deployed water tariffs and conservation incentives, including investments in protecting wetlands and forests.
El Niño was pointed to as a cause for the drought. This phenomenon is brought on by differences in wind and sea surface temperature in the Pacific Ocean.
Heat-trapping pollution, which has caused global temperatures to rise, can increase the severity of El Niño and the disruption it causes. That said, reducing pollution can help stabilize weather patterns so countries around the world can maintain food production and safety.
Decarbonizing the electrical grid can help by swapping coal, oil, and gas generation with renewables like solar, wind, and hydro. Switching to electric vehicles, public transportation, or active transportation can put a big dent in travel pollution. Adopting a more veggie-forward diet can help avoid the atmospheric pollution caused by livestock agriculture.
While authorities hoped that rationing would decrease water usage rates from 17.7 cubic meters per second to 15 cubic meters per second, Natasha Avendaño, Bogotá's water supply chief, noted that residents used 16.2 cubic meters per second during the restriction.
Civil and environmental engineering professor Juan Guillermo Saldarriaga suggested that the people of Bogotá didn't meet this particular goal since they were already mindful of their water consumption.
"At the end of the 1990s, Bogotá went through another very important emergency in the Chingaza system," Saldarriaga told El Espectador, per Colombia Reports.
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All the time 😎 "... The city experienced more severe rationing, but the educational campaigns carried out by the Mayor's Office of Antanas Mockus helped the people of Bogotá to learn how to make better use of water."
Ultimately, Mayor Galán hinged his decision on the good faith of residents, hoping "not to lose the good consumption habits."
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