Brasília The main waterways of the Amazon and Pantanal are on alert for the transport of cargo and passengers, due to the drought that has hit the region.
Report from the Ministry of Ports and Airports, to which Folha had access, shows that the Madeira River closed the month of September below the reference level to impose restrictions on navigation. In the Tapajós River, the depth is close to 3 meters, while extreme drought persists in the Paraguay basin.
The forecast of less rain in part of the Amazon in the coming months increases concern about these routes, which are intensely used to supply cities and riverside communities, as well as routes to export grains and ore.
The report was prepared by the sustainable planning area of the National Secretariat of Waterways and Navigation. The document, which brings together data from monitoring bodies and climate forecasts, portrays the situation on September 30th, with references consulted until October 5th.
The alert situation is not yet equivalent to a formal declaration of emergency or suspension of navigation. In Madeira, the Porto Velho (RO) station recorded 3.07 meters on September 30, after a fall of 1.37 meters during the month. The 4 meter mark is used as a reference for "start of restriction" and the 2 meter mark as a "navigation stop".
The Madeira connects Porto Velho (RO) to the Amazon River, also crossing the state of Amazonas. It is an outlet for agricultural production in the Central-West region and a supply route. The waterway transported 12.1 million tons of soybeans and corn in 2025. The ministry also highlights its role in sending fuel and essential products to riverside municipalities.
Despite the limitations, Madeira remains well above the 49 centimeter mark that was recorded in Porto Velho on September 30, 2024. The specific forecast for the region points to levels close to the historical median, with water rising in October. This means a recovery perspective.
In Tapajós, in Pará, the report points to depths of 3.15 meters in Itapaiúna and 2.99 meters in Monte Cristo, two points considered critical for navigation.
In the Itaituba ruler, the level was 2.40 meters on September 30, after a drop of 1.91 meters during the month. In Santarém, it was 2.63 meters, with a reduction of 2.10 meters. For both seasons, levels below the historical median are predicted.
Today the Tapajós waterway is one of those that receives the most production in the Center-West, through terminals in Miritituba, in the municipality of Itaituba. The grains arrive by truck via BR-163, mainly from Mato Grosso, and are sent on barges to export ports.
According to the Ministry of Ports and Airports, Tapajós transported 2.38 million tons in the first two months of 2026. Soy and corn represented 86% of the movement. The route also transports fertilizers and liquid bulk.
The risk of difficulties in this corridor drives demands from the production sector.
In August, entities gathered in a mobilization led by the Parliamentary Agricultural Front estimated that the lack of dredging of the river could cause an impact of up to R$850 million on the production chain. The concern is that navigation restrictions will force part of the cargo to migrate to trucks, increasing costs.
The Dnit (National Department of Transport Infrastructure) canceled in September a R$74.8 million tender for dredging the Tapajós, after technical evaluation and dialogue with indigenous peoples and traditional communities opposed to the actions on the river.
In Rio Negro, the Manaus (AM) station recorded 18.80 meters on September 30th. The river fell 5.21 meters during the month and was 1.72 meters below the historical median. Still, the reading was higher than the 13.14 meters recorded on the same day in 2024.
The Negro and Solimões, which form the Amazon River, are part of the route for transporting passengers and small loads through the Amazon. The concern is that the sandbanks could restrict passage in sections of both rivers, including in the region between Manaus and Coari.
In Solimões, which connects the western border of Amazonas to the Manaus region, the picture is more favorable. Tabatinga recorded 3.47 meters and Coari, 6.70 meters, both above the historical median for the date and classified in the normal range. In Tabatinga, the river rose 41 centimeters in the last week of September.
In the Pantanal, the main point of concern is the Paraguay River. Three important regions of the river were in the lower range of normality for the time. On September 30, Cáceres, in Mato Grosso, recorded 77 centimeters, compared to a historical median of 1.42 meters. In Mato Grosso do Sul, Ladário was at 1.18 meters, compared to 2.55 meters, and Porto Murtinho was at 2.38 meters, compared to 4.48 meters.
The report states that "the extreme drought scenario remained in the Paraguay basin", with levels below 1 meter predicted in Ladário during October and November.
The Paraguayan waterway, which crosses the Pantanal, connects to the river network that carries cargo to ports in Argentina and Uruguay. In the 2024 drought, movement fell to 3.3 million, a reduction of around 58% over the previous year.
For the quarter from October to December, the federal report points to an expectation of less rain in part of the Amazon and a worsening of water supply over the months in the Madeira, Negro and Tapajós basins.
The risk requires monitoring, but it still does not allow us to say that all waterways will be closed.
To Folha, the Ministry of Ports and Airports declared, via the National Secretariat of Waterways and Navigation, that it maintains maintenance dredging contracts on the Madeira, Amazonas, Solimões and Paraguay rivers to improve navigability and guarantee the continuity of transport of passengers, cargo and inputs.
"As this is maintenance dredging, there is no deepening of the bed, but only desilting of some sections that could affect navigation. In this way, there is safety and authorization for navigation until the minimum level is reached, when the need for cargo relief or interruption of cargo transport operations is then assessed", he stated.
Regarding the Amazon and Solimões rivers, the ministry said that there are eight works and supervision contracts totaling R$459.48 million. "With a duration of five years, they are in the second year of execution. The services in this stage began in the first half of September, with the mobilization of teams and equipment", he said.
The interventions are part of the Annual Waterway Maintenance Dredging Plan. Monitoring identifies critical stretches and dredging points for scheduling services.
In Madeira, the ministry said, the continuous maintenance dredging contract provides R$123.26 million for works between Porto Velho and the mouth of the Amazon River, including the crossing of BR-230. It is in the first of three years of execution, with completion scheduled for November 2029.
"The supervision, estimated at R$29.08 million, is up for tender. The contracting takes place after the severe droughts of 2023 and 2024, which affected navigation and the transport of food, fuel and other inputs", he declared.
In the case of the Paraguay River, maintenance includes dredging, maintenance and adaptation of signage, with R$69.6 million for works and R$15.42 million for supervision. "There is also a contract for the environmental management of services, worth R$9.57 million. The contracts are in the third of five years of execution," said the ministry.
