Uruguay decrees the end of the water emergency in the most populated area of ​​the country

The government of Uruguay decreed on Wednesday the end of the water emergency in the capital and its surroundings, declared two months ago to ensure the supply of water drinking water in the midst of a prolonged drought.

President Luis Lacalle Pou said that the decision was made due to the recovery of part of the flow of the watercourses and the reservoirs that supply the metropolitan area of ​​Montevideo, where some 1.8 million inhabitants reside, more than half of the country population.

“Today we can see the quality of the water with some peace of mind, which is very good, and see the days ahead with a very good water supply,” he told reporters.

In recent months, the worst water deficit since the beginning of records, 74 years ago, jeopardized the pumping of drinking water to Montevideo and towns in the neighboring departments of Canelones and San José.

Given the lack of rain, the state company Obras Sanitarias del Estado (OSE) decided at the end of April to mix the scarce fresh water with flows from the Río de la Plata, brackish because they come from the estuary.

Residents of the capital and its surrounding areas, accustomed to having good-quality tap water, turned in droves to bottled water for drinking and cooking.

According to official data, the Paso Severino reservoir, the main freshwater reservoir for the area, reached its historical minimum on July 5, with barely 1.1 million cubic meters out of a total capacity of 67 million.

And there were days in recent months when the sodium and chloride values ​​even exceeded the maximum authorized exceptionally, of 440mg/l and 720mg/l, respectively.

Also higher were levels of trihalomethanes, chemicals that form when water is disinfected with chlorine and can be harmful if consumed for decades.

The government said tap water was safe, but advised pregnant women and the sick not to drink it.

downpours give relief

Heavy downpours in the region eased the situation. According to the last official balance, as of August 22, Paso Severino had more than fifty% of its capacity. And the sodium and chloride values ​​were well below the permitted levels.

The decree of June 19 that declared a water emergency made it possible to finance two liters of mineral water per day for more than 500,000 people considered vulnerable, as well as to exempt bottled water from taxes, which, according to official figures, achieved a reduction of 25% in its retail price.

In addition, it facilitated the construction of a new dam and pipes for the transfer of water from one river to another, works that began on August 10.

The president estimated an expense of “close to US$70 million” to alleviate the crisis and announced the prompt start-up of the Arazatí project.

OSE announced on Wednesday the award of this work to a consortium of national and international companies. The project plans to build a water intake and purification plant from the Río de la Plata near Arazatí beach, about 100 km west of Montevideo.

This will make it possible to provide the metropolitan system with a new source of water supply, he said in a statement. Currently, the only source to supply water to Montevideo and surroundings is the Santa Lucía river basin.

The initiative is questioned by the OSE union and the opposition, considering it a privatization of the resource.

“The government chooses to make Arazatí at a million-dollar cost, in solitude and weakening OSE”wrote the director of OSE on behalf of the Broad Front, Edgardo Ortuño, on the X social network.

Source: AFP