The Panama Canal’s Water Budget: Why More Booking Slots Do Not End the Freshwater Problem
World / Panama Canal The Panama Canal’s water budget. More than a ship count. A restored booking slot is real progress. Freshwater security is a longer calculation. USNS Comfort at Miraflores lock, August 4, 2019. Archive view of lock operations, not present-day commercial traffic. U.S. Navy/Kryzentia Richards . Water Storage, inflow, and shared demand Passage Draft limits and reserved dates Field of view NEWJINMEDIA · November 5, 2026 The Panama Canal has restored some capacity, but lake storage, ship draft, drinking water, and future reservoirs remain different problems. A recovery measured in slots, not a declaration of safety The Panama Canal entered November with a more complicated story than a waterway simply closing or reopening. Advisory A-36-2026, issued September 28, increased Neopanamax booking capacity from nine to ten daily slots for transit dates beginning October 15. Together with the older locks, the announced total became 33 slots. The same notice set the maximum autho...