Citizens are growing increasingly concerned, even drilling through their basement floors in hopes of finding groundwater. An impending ration mandate could leave residents with access to water only two days a week. Scientific projections suggest the city’s water supplies could run dry by year’s end.
São Paulo’s rapid growth has outpaced its water supply’s ability to replenish, and current drought conditions further exacerbate the issue.
Solving São Paulo’s water crisis will require drastic short-term actions. But for other cities in which growth is out of sync with water supplies, one relatively simple strategy can go a long way toward avoiding a similar crisis: employing nature as an ally.
The Nature Conservancy
