Earlier this year, the Panama Canal implemented water saving measures after experiencing the fifth driest year at the Canal in 70 years. 692 to the long-standing partnership with our customers and their flexibility to adapt to these measures, the Panama Canal has now emerged from its dry season equipped to ensure a competitive draft, and thus steady operations for months to come. Having an operational level of water and transit reliability in the second half of 2020 will be critical for the waterway as it advances its search for long-term water solutions and prepares for coronavirus-driven shifts in trade, as the Panama Canal Administrator outlined earlier this month.
The waterway has carefully monitored its operational water usage since the end of 2018, when rainfall at the watershed was 20 percent below the historic average. This unprecedented drought severely constrained water levels at Gatun and Alhajuela Lakes, the main sources of water for the Canal and half of Panama’s population. Despite the extensive use of water conservation tactics across Canal operations, inadequate draft levels were still projected to significantly restrict cargo transiting the waterway if no further interventions were made
