Radio Havana Cuba | Uruguay, a trickle of water

Written by Roberto Moregon

Uruguayans sighed with relief that some heavy rains have fallen recently, many of them still not enough to mitigate an acute drought, the most severe in 70 years, which has caused a water crisis, the worst in local history.


A little meager rainfall benefited the Paso Severino River, vital to the capital of Montevideo, which is as affected as the rest of the country.


The aforementioned reservoir, which is the largest in Uruguay, has fallen dangerously below 2.4 percent of its capacity and raises reasonable concerns.


The dangerous situation has gained prominence in recent months when the channels through which the vital fluid is transported have shrunk in size, and salty water has begun to come out of customers’ taps in their homes.


For many Uruguayans, the current difficulties are not only related to the absence of storms, as they highlight the lack of official policies aimed at mitigating the effects of periods of drought.


In the opinion of the directors of the National Administration of State Sanitation Works, the current water crisis could have been avoided if the government of neoliberal President Louis Lacalle Paux had carried out the infrastructure works.


The aforementioned public company had reduced investments worth $200 million, in addition to boycotting the plan of the country’s former president, Tabare Vasquez, to build a dam in an important path.


Let us remember that, as is common in the philosophy of this type of Whig government, during their tenure, state funding decreases.


Given the painful availability of the essential natural resource, all that remains is to appeal to the bottled water that is sold in stores, but the vulnerable sectors, suffering from low wages, claim that they are having difficulties in obtaining it.


In addition to all of the above, opposition sources denounced what they described as a lack of transparency and communication on the part of the Lacalle Beaux government when referring to the water crisis.


Fortunately, the people of Uruguay are counting on the recent heavy rains which will allow a moderate flow of fresh water into the Santa Lucia River Basin.


But natural conditions will only recover in Uruguay, according to experts, if rainfall of at least 100 mm is recorded in each of those months of August and September.


Meanwhile, the government is satisfied with the recommendation to reduce domestic water consumption.