After a long period of drought in the central region of Brazil, an integrated solution provided by WEG allowed an essential supply of water to flow to over nine million people, in the city of São Paulo. Driven by WEG motors, ten floating pumps from the Brazilian manufacturer Motobombas Flutuantes Rio do Sul, in operation since May 15, have raised the water level of the Cantareira reservoir by 18%. In addition, as part of the continuing effort to maintain an adequate water supply seven additional motor-pump sets will be installed by the beginning of August.
These machines pump water from storage, which is a strategic reserve of water with about 400 million litters, located below the flood-gates of the Cantareira System. Such an emergency measure was taken by the São Paulo´s Water Company (Sabesp) due to the critical levels of the water supply to the São Paulo metropolitan area.
The entire package includes seventeen pumps each being driven by two WEG electric motors. Each unit can be started and shut down independently based on the flow rate requirements, allowing maintenance and operation flexibility.
Motobombas Rio do Sul´s owner, Afonso Grach, stated “This is the largest sale the company has ever made to a single customer and the partnership established with WEG, our exclusive motor supplier, was essential for the success of this project.” He also said “The main challenge for this installation was the lead time and WEG has fully delivered to accomplish our customer´s demands and as a result of a long-lasting partnership, today we use 100% WEG motors to drive our pumps”, he said.
José Oscar Teixeira Costa, WEG’s OEM sales supervisor, stated “the supply of this set of 34 motors strengthens the existing partnership between WEG and Motobombas Flutuantes Rio do Sul, and most importantly in supporting Sabesp to maintain the proper supply of drinking water to the people of São Paulo”.
Based on Sabesp´s information, the historical low level of water at Cantareira reservoir has been caused by a rain shortage in the region. Average rain in the region was 226 millimeters in 2013, and down to only 62 millimeters in January. While in January 2014, the amount has been just 87.8 millimeters, three times below the average of 260 millimeters expected for that month.
