If anybody has any doubts about the seriousness of Mendoza’s water shortage, take a spin up to Potrerillos dam. One of Mendoza’s primary water sources, Potrerillos is a 21 square kilometre lake tucked in the mountains on the road to Chile.
Currently it is beginning to look like a plain of mudflats as the extremely low water level lays bare sandy banks and even the old Route 42 is visible for the first time since it was originally submerged when the dam was built in 2002. If the water goes much lower, the small electric power plant will have to cease production.
The reason why the lake is almost half empty is the lack of snowfall during the winter and it is scary to think what will happen to the city if there is another non-white winter in 2011. Other important dams in the province are even lower with El Carrizal at 52% capacity and El Nihuil and Valle Grande in the south at 41% and 30% respectively.
