Why do we still have water rationing when it rains? We explain.
It has rained heavily in Bogotá in the last few days, but it is still not enough to end water rationing.
It has rained heavily in Bogotá over the last few days, causing flooding, waterlogging and other emergencies. However, it is important to clarify that despite the heavy rains, the water rationing measure is being maintained in the capital and surrounding municipalities, mainly because the rains have occurred in the capital and not in Chingaza.
“We have repeatedly said that the fact that it is raining in the city does not mean that it is raining in Chingaza, which is more than 55 kilometres away and has a different rainfall regime due to its location in the Orinoco basin”, comments Natasha Avendaño, director of the Empresa de Acueducto y Alcantarillado de Bogotá (EAAB), in her latest column in La República.
She adds: ‘The recent rains we have experienced in Bogotá and much of the Andean region, on the one hand, and the low inflows into the Chingaza páramo, on the other, are the main reasons why we are still rationing water in the capital and the surrounding municipalities.”
The rainy season is keeping the arrival of ‘day zero’ at bay for now
It is important to bear in mind that the rainfall in January and February 2025, which was above the historical average, the arrival of the rainy season in April and the reliability of the production of the Tibitoc drinking water treatment plant -PTAP- are keeping the arrival of ‘day zero’ at bay for the time being. The arrival of “day zero”, set in September last year by the Empresa de Acueducto y Alcantarillado de Bogotá (EAAB) as an indicator that, in due course, would force an increase in the intensity or extension of water rationing restrictions or shifts in Bogotá and the 11 surrounding municipalities.
We urge citizens to continue their good behaviour in terms of water consumption and not to let their guard down when it comes to saving water, not just in the next few weeks, but definitely as a lifestyle change.
