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World

Water supply in Brazil's biggest city at risk as reservoir drops to 5 percent of capacity

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    A car is revealed by the receding water in the Atibainha dam, part of the Cantareira System that provides water to the Sao Paulo metropolitan area, in Nazare Paulista, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 10, 2014. The dam is drying up due to the worst drought to hit Sao Paulo in 84 years. (AP Photo/Andre Penner) (The Associated Press)

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    Pedal boats stand on the receding banks of the Atibainha dam, part of the Cantareira System responsible for providing water to the Sao Paulo metropolitan area, in Nazare Paulista, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 10, 2014. The region got only a third of the usual rain during Brazil's wet season from December to February. (AP Photo/Andre Penner) (The Associated Press)

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    The frames of cars are revealed by the receding water line in the Atibainha dam, part of the Cantareira System that provides water to the Sao Paulo metropolitan area, in Nazare Paulista, Brazil, Friday, Oct. 10, 2014. Due to the worst drought in 84 years, the Basic Sanitation Company of the State of Sao Paulo has offered discounts to consumers who reduce monthly consumption by 20 percent, among other measures. (AP Photo/Andre Penner) (The Associated Press)

SAO PAULO – The governor of Sao Paulo says he's asking Brazilian federal officials for permission to again engage in emergency pumping of water into a main reservoir that supplies water to the country's biggest city.

Gov. Geraldo Alckmin said Friday he's asking to pump water from below flood gates of the Cantareira reservoir to increase supply, which has fallen to nearly 5 percent of capacity.

The reservoir provides water to some 6 million residents, and Sao Paulo's worst drought in decades has turned it into a cracked-earth landscape. The fall in the water level has exposed dozens of old cars dumped into the reservoir over the years.

Experts fault Alckmin for not rationing water in Sao Paulo, saying he didn't for fear of hurting his re-election campaign. He won another term Sunday.