After Months Of Historic Drought, Sonoran Reservoirs Below 30% Capacity

By Murphy Woodhouse
Published: Sunday, May 2, 2021 - 5:46am

Months of historic drought have taken a toll on reservoir levels in neighboring Sonora.

As of May 1, the state’s sizable system of nine dams was sitting at just below 30% of their capacity, one of the lower figures in the country, according to federal data. At this time last year, they held more than twice the water. This comes after a historically disappointing 2020 monsoon season.

“In those 50 years, it has never had levels so low,” said Rodolfo Jordan Villalobos, state head of the National Campesino Federation (CNC), of the dam that supplies water to the agriculturally critical Mayo River Valley.

Federal data shows the Mocúzari reservoir, the third largest in the state, is at just over 1% of its capacity.

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