Officials in Sao Paulo state have announced that the water shortage in the city of the same name is now “critical,” with multimillion-dollar emergency construction projects so far failing to ease the situation.

The announcement was the first time the state government officially recognized the severity of the water crisis and permits the suspension of licenses that allow agriculture, industry and other private concerns to draw directly from area water supplies.

Read more of the Los Angeles Times‘ article here: Drought drives water shortage to critical stage in Sao Paulo, Brazil