CNN:
There’s a new meme being shared widely this week across social media accounts in Colombia’s capital Bogotá, as the city grapples with a water crisis.
It’s an image of C. Montgomery Burns, the supervillain from the animated series “The Simpsons,” showing up at the door with a bunch of red roses and a heart-shaped chocolate box. Smiling, he says: “I saw your turn of water rationing is different from mine.”
The meme reflects a sense of dark humor among some Bogotànos following the city authority’s announcement Monday that residents would have to ration water as drought, fueled by El Niño, pushes reservoirs toward record lows.
The rationing came into effect Thursday morning. Bogotá and dozens of surrounding towns have been divided into nine different zones with domestic running water cut off for 24 hours in each zone on a rotation that will reset every 10 days. The measures will affect approximately 9 million people.
There are contingency plans to ensure schools and hospitals have a continuous supply, authorities have said.
But, as “The Simpsons” meme suggests, some residents have been left wondering whether they might need to start cozying up to friends across town to access drinking water.
The measures are part of emergency plans introduced by the Colombian government and the city’s mayor after reservoirs reached “historically low” levels.
The Chuza and San Rafael reservoirs, part of the Chingaza System that provides 70% of the city’s drinking water, are at particularly critical positions, according to local authorities.
“Let’s not waste a drop of water in Bogotá at this time,” Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said in a news conference Monday, adding, “that will help us so that these restrictions can be lifted more quickly or reduced.”
Galán called for “a behavioral change that is sustainable over time and guarantees that water is enough for everyone,” adding that some of the reservoirs are less than 20% capacity compared to historical averages for this time of year.
