Keeping It Together in a Time of Crisis: Lessons from Bogotá’s Drought Management

In April 2024, Bogotá faced one of the worst droughts in its history. The city's main reservoir dropped to 10.5% of its capacity due to an intense “El Niño” phenomenon following a dry season with rainfall 27% below average. The year 2024 became one of the driest on record for the city's potable water supply systems since the 1960s. The fear of "Day Zero"—the moment when taps would run dry—became an unsettling and uncommon reality.

City authorities acted swiftly to address the crisis. The Empresa de Acueducto y Alcantarillado de Bogotá (EAAB) launched a massive communication campaign urging citizens to reduce consumption. At the same time, the expansion of a key water treatment plant was accelerated to increase supply. Ultimately, water rationing measures were introduced.

As in any emergency, long working hours, political tensions, and uncertainty dominated the decision-making processes. However, amidst the chaos of the water crisis, the Bogotá Mayor's Office and EAAB made a bold decision: to look beyond the emergency and think long-term instead of merely managing the immediate crisis.

With technical support from the World Bank in strategy design and coordination among multiple partners, efforts began to develop a plan to secure the future of Bogotá's water supply. The expertise and global knowledge of each institution were leveraged. The goal? To design an integral and sustainable plan to ensure Bogotá's water security. This effort included contributions from a large group of local and international agencies, among them the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the 2030 Water Resources Group (WRG2030), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the European Union (EU), the Organization of American States (OAS), and the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI).

This includes:

• Use a decision-making tool under uncertainty to prioritize alternatives for water supply and demand management, including rainwater harvesting and nature-based solutions
• Develop a roadmap to assess groundwater potential
• Prepare a plan to reduce non-revenue water
• Identify the potential for wastewater reuse
• Assessing water governance
• Create an operational drought management plan for the existing infrastructure

Currently, this strategy is being implemented, and to ensure its long-term sustainability, WRG2030 is funding a multi-stakeholder platform—including the public sector, private sector, civil society, and others—to ensure that decisions made at this stage incorporate diverse perspectives across the water basin. The goal: to build a local government led lasting engagement and resilience for the years ahead.

Two lessons from this entire process: First, even in crisis mode, long-term thinking is essential. Addressing the root causes—not just the symptoms—of a crisis is key to resilience. Second, hope is essential, but we must go further and strive to be better prepared for extreme climate events. A well-crafted strategy not only mitigates disasters but also builds a sustainable future for all.