Officials urge water conservation during drought

Cantonal officials are asking citizens to conserve water due to low river and reservoir levels. They say that despite the light rain that has fallen since Saturday, low river levels will probably continue to be the norm for several weeks.

The Cuenca utility company ETAPA is urging citizens to limit car washing, irrigation activities and other water usage if possible. ETAPA said that the Rio Tomebamba flowed at a rate of 100 liters per second on Friday, down from an average flow of 4,000 liters.