MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay: End of water crisis decreed

The quality of the water today is very good, Lacalle argued

Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou decreed the end of the water crisis affecting the South American country's capital, it was announced Wednesday in Montevideo. Lacalle said Decree 177 dated June 19, 2023, had been revoked, thus reinstating taxation on bottled water, it was explained.

The head of state pointed out that the amount of water available in the Santa Lucía river basin was being monitored and that the current situation offered “a certain tranquility.”

Heavy downpours in the region eased the situation after a months-long drought. The worst water deficit since records began 74 years ago has put the pumping of drinking water to Montevideo and localities in the neighboring departments of Canelones and San José at risk.

Lacalle said the decision was made in view of the recovery of part of the flow of the water courses and reservoirs that supply the metropolitan area of Montevideo, home to some 1.8 million inhabitants, more than half of the country's population.

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

Faced with the lack of rainfall, the state-owned company Obras Sanitarias del Estado (OSE) decided in late April to mix the scarce fresh water with flows from the River Plate, which is of a poorer quality. There were days when sodium and chloride values exceeded even the exceptionally authorized maximums of 440mg/l and 720mg/l, respectively. Hence, residents of the capital and surrounding areas resorted en masse to bottled water.

The June 19 decree declaring the 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 25% reduction in its retail price. It also facilitated the construction of a new dam and pipelines, currently under way.