Panama Canal To Add New Reservoir To Cope With Drought
View SourceLast month, the Panama Canal Board of Directors approved funding for the construction of a new reservoir in the Rio Indio basin. Slated to be completed in 6 years, the new reservoir will serve as an additional water source for Canal operations and Panama’s population, making the region more resilient to future droughts. The Panama Canal is made up of a system of 12 locks that use water from several freshwater lakes, and each vessel transit is estimated to use about 50 million gallons of water. In 2023, an unusually dry rainy season led the Panama Canal Authority (PCA) to impose draft restrictions and daily vessel limits. Because of these drought-related restrictions, dry bulk vessels carrying U.S. grain exports largely avoided the Panama Canal from late 2023 through the first half of 2024. However, a plentiful 2024 rainy season allowed the PCA to ease drought-related restrictions (GTR, August 15, 2024)
