Uruguay is facing its worst water shortage in 74 years. Photo: breakinglatest.news
Uruguay is facing its worst water shortage in 74 years, affecting thousands of households and deteriorating water quality, officials said. A school in Montevideo was forced to close early due to a lack of drinking water for students.
State water company Obras Sanitarias del Estado (OSE) said water levels at the Paso Severino reservoir, which supplies drinking water to more than half of Uruguay's 3.5 million people, were at historic lows, at around 10% capacity. Latest data showed the reservoir now has around 6.2 million cubic metres of water, far less than the monthly average of 60 million cubic metres. The capital Montevideo needs around 650,000 cubic metres of water a day.
Although there has been some rain in recent days and more rain is forecast for later this week, the low rainfall is unlikely to change the situation, according to OSE. Meteorologists say 50mm of rain per day is needed until June to start restoring water levels in the reservoir.
Due to the depletion of the main reservoir in Uruguay, OSE had to use additional water from the Plate estuary in late April, causing abnormally high levels of sodium and chlorine in the water. The water shortage has angered residents, who plan to protest in the capital Montevideo on May 24.
Federico Kreimerman, president of the OSE union, said that low rainfall, poor management of water supplies and lack of state investment were the reasons for the current water shortage in Uruguay. According to him, in addition to water for domestic use, irrigation water is also needed for agriculture , livestock and forestry.
The Uruguayan president's office said authorities are evaluating measures, including adding a new reservoir to reduce the salinity of drinking water.
Last year, low rainfall and high temperatures across southern South America also caused severe drought, affecting crops in grain-producing Argentina and causing heavy damage to farms.
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