After public officials and utilities downplayed for months the chance Brazil’s three most-populous states will face water rationing, plans to severely limit water use are in the works as reservoirs fall to record lows.
Sao Paulo’s water utility said this week it has a plan to ration water five days a week if heavy rains don’t come soon. Minas Gerais’s governor warned that consumers need to cut use by 30 percent or there’d be mandatory cutoffs. And Rio de Janeiro’s governor said the state is reviewing ways to reduce companies’ usage to prioritize drinking water.
