Faced with the water crisis, Uruguayans forced to drink water... saltier

The South American country is currently experiencing the worst drought since records began in 1949. A historic lack of rainfall that weighs on freshwater reserves and severely affects water supply and quality in the capital, Montevideo.

A Montevideo resident mounts cans of mineral water at his home on May 18, 2023, as Uruguay faces a historic drought that has dried up dams. REUTERS - MARIANA GREIF

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With our correspondent in Buenos Aires, Théo Conscience

Since the beginning of May, tap water has had an abnormally salty taste in homes in the Uruguayan capital. To conserve critical reserves, the OSE, the entity in charge of water supply, distributes a mixture of fresh water and water drawn from the Rio de la Plata estuary.

To do this, the entity previously had to increase its maximum sodium and chloride concentration thresholds. An exceptional measure taken in consultation with the Ministry of Health, which nevertheless provoked a wave of indignation. While consumers are rushing to the bottles of mineral water that are starting to run out on supermarket shelves, the Minister of the Environment said that if not strictly drinkable, tap water remains fit for consumption. "Water is not, say, drinkable, according to the 'perfect' definition of drinking water. A definition that actually presents indicators. We say that water is drinkable and consumable. It is another definition, which is almost added to the other. If we focus on really technical points, and if we exchange positions, this water, we say, is not drinkable but drinkable and consumable, in accordance with public health, "tries to justify Robert Bouvier.

The authorities had to resort to this solution because of the critical state of the fresh water reserves of the Paso Severino dam. At 4.5 million cubic metres, these are currently at their historic low and barely guarantee supply until mid-June. In all, nearly two million people, more than half of Uruguay's population, depend on this reservoir for access to safe drinking water.

On 31 May, scientists and NGOs called for demonstrations against the government's handling of the crisis.

The Canelon Grande dam, in Uruguay, at an extremely low level in May 2023. REUTERS - MARIANA GREIF

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• Uruguay
• Water