Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia, is facing a severe water crisis, prompting authorities to implement water rationing measures affecting approximately 9 million people.
The city’s reservoirs are reaching record lows due to a prolonged drought exacerbated by the El Niño climate phenomenon. As a result, residents are now required to ration water as part of emergency plans introduced by the government and the city’s mayor.
The rationing, which began Thursday morning, involves dividing Bogotá and surrounding areas into nine zones, with each zone experiencing a 24-hour cutoff of domestic running water on a rotational basis every 10 days. While contingency plans ensure continuous water supply for schools and hospitals, residents are left struggling with the challenge of limited access to drinking water.
It’s not unusual for cities in Latin America to face water crises. Bogotá joins Mexico City to its northwest, which could also be on the brink of running out of water, as the combination of climate change, El Niño, geography and rapid urban development put immense strain on its water resources.
“Let’s not waste a drop of water in Bogotá at this time,” Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said in a news conference Monday, urging residents to adopt sustainable behavioral changes to ensure sufficient water for everyone. With reservoirs at historically low levels, the need for conservation measures is urgent.
Bogotá’s vulnerability to drought is compounded by its unique geographical location, perched on a mountain plateau at over 2,600 meters above sea level. Unlike most cities that rely on aquifers for water supply, Bogotá depends heavily on surface waters like reservoirs, making it particularly susceptible to rainfall patterns.
Armando Sarmiento, an ecology professor at Bogotá’s Javeriana University, highlighted the city’s dependence on rain and its vulnerability to drought. He emphasized the need for long-term planning to address water scarcity and called for societal-wide efforts to rethink water usage, “most cities around the world depend on aquifers for their water supplies. Bogota is different in that almost all our supply comes from surface waters like reservoirs, which are more susceptible to rain patterns.”
As global warming intensifies extreme weather events, experts warn that the stress on cities’ water systems will only escalate. Colombia’s environment minister, Susana Muhamad, stressed how respecting natural water cycles and called for proactive measures can limit urban expansion toward natural areas. “We got to a point where we can’t expect water to come down like it used to be if we don’t respect the reservoirs’ natural supply cycle, if we don’t respect water’s natural cycle,” she told reporters
While the immediate focus is on managing individual water usage, the crisis underscores the need for broader societal changes to ensure water security for Bogotá and beyond. As Sarmiento noted, addressing water scarcity requires collective action and proactive planning at both the city and national levels to mitigate future crises.
Source: CNN
