According to a report by the head of the ACP, Ricaurte Vazquez, the capacity of the lakes (Gatun and Alajuela) is already full, which demands solutions to the water supply for consumption and operation, outside the basin.

Vásquez explained to the TVN news channel that there is no single solution to solve the supply of the vital liquid and to look for variants, that no matter what options are adopted, all of them will have a social and economic cost.

The decrease in the level of the lakes, as a result of less rainfall and greater episodes of drought, have led the ACP to make cuts in the draft and the number of ships that can transit through the locks.

This area of the Canal watershed produces the water that is stored in the Alhajuela and Gatun lakes, reserves that are used to supply more than 50% of the population of Panama that resides mainly in the districts of Panama, La Chorrera, Arraijan and the eastern province of Colon.

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