Cuenca's Four Rivers Recover After Drought Scare: Water Levels Back to Normal

Good news for anyone who remembers last year's drought and power outages: Cuenca's four rivers have recovered their normal water levels following rainfall in early January.

What Happened

In the first week of January 2026, ETAPA EP (the municipal utility) reported concerning drops in river levels:

January 7:

• Tarqui: 1.71 m³/s (low)
• Tomebamba: 2.10 m³/s (barely normal)
• Machángara: 2.06 m³/s (near low threshold)
• Yanuncay: 3.36 m³/s (normal)

January 8: The Yanuncay and Machángara both dropped to "low" status overnight. The Machángara fell to just 1.53 m³/s—the lowest of the four.

January 9-12: Rainfall arrived, and by January 12, all four rivers had returned to normal levels:

• Tomebamba: 8.2 m³/s
• Yanuncay: 8.39 m³/s
• Tarqui: 4.13 m³/s
• Machángara: 4.44 m³/s

Why It Matters

Water Supply

These four rivers supply Cuenca's drinking water through ETAPA's treatment plants.

Electricity

Critically, these rivers also feed the Mazar reservoir, which is part of the Paute Hydroelectric Complex. The four rivers contribute over 45% of the water for this reservoir, which is essential for Ecuador's electrical grid.

2024 Context

Last year, Cuenca experienced nearly five months of hydrological drought (July through December 2024). During the worst periods, Ecuador faced power rationing of up to 14 hours per day. The drought began when the Tomebamba dropped below thresholds in July and didn't recover until December.

Understanding the Numbers

ETAPA uses these thresholds:

• Normal: Above 2 m³/s
• Low: Below 2 m³/s
• Hydrological drought: Below 1.2 m³/s

What to Watch

While the immediate crisis has passed, rainy season patterns remain unpredictable. If you experienced the 2024 outages, you might want to:

• Keep flashlights and power banks charged
• Consider a small UPS for essential electronics
• Have a plan for food storage if extended outages return
• Monitor ETAPA announcements for water supply updates

ETAPA publishes daily river flow data. For the latest readings, check their official channels.