IN BRIEF: No water rationing in medium term, says Rio state utility

No water rationing will be needed in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region in the short to medium-term, said the president of Rio state water utility Cedae, Wagner Victer.

The national water agency ANA ordered that water flow be cut to 140,000l/s from 160,000l/s along the system that feeds into Rio de Janeiro's Guandu potable water treatment plant, but the move should not affect potable water supply, Victer said.

The Guandu water treatment plant is the largest in the world, according to Cedae, with 43,000l/s capacity, providing water to 9mn people. It was built in 1955.

Last month, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais state governors signed an agreement on water projects aimed at jointly combating the current drought in the tri-state region.