Sao Paolo, Brazil, May Be the First City to Dry Up and Blow Away.

It has come to my attention that Sao Paolo, the largest city in Brazil, is losing residents due to a water availability crisis that was brought on by a years-long drought caused by global warming and the deforestation of the Amazon Rain Forest, and by poor management by the privatized water company.

Hat tip to apneaman at Robertscribbler.

As Brazil's Largest City Struggles With Drought, Residents Are Leaving.

http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/11/22/455751848/as-brazils-largest-city-struggles-with-drought-residents-are-leaving?sc=nd

It happened slowly at first. The reservoir's water level dropped, so the resort extended the boat launch ramp.  Then they had to add another extension.  Eventually, the water dropped so much that business dried up — along with the lake.  "For this coming weekend, there's not one reservation. This business was 98 percent dependent on the water. Now that the water's gone, the customers are gone as well," says Francisco Carlos Fonseca, the manager of Marina Confiança.

Francisco Carlos Fonseca is the manager of Marina Confiança, a resort located on the banks of the Cantareira reservoir system. Behind him is a boat ramp that once led to a lake that he says used to be more than 100 feet deep.

The resort is located on what were once the banks of one of Sao Paulo's most important reservoir system, called Cantareira.  A drought has been devastating the region for the past two years.  Unless there is more rain, some water conservation groups estimate there is only enough water to last about five months.

Renata Trindade, 26, lives in a northern neighborhood of Sao Paulo with her boyfriend.  She says the government has been rationing water, so she sets aside dirty dishes to conserve water for bathing and flushing toilets.  On weekdays, she gets water from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m. and on weekends, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

For her and many other Sao Paulo residents, this is the new normal.

And this city is not alone. Brazil's second largest city, Rio de Janeiro, is also facing water troubles, as are other coastal areas. It's been an enormous shock to Brazilians, who are used to their country being called "the Saudi Arabia of Water" — historically, it has had as much water as that Middle Eastern country has oil.

Some people are already deciding to pick up and move their lives completely, in search of more irrigated pastures.

More here.