A country thirsty: Uruguay is going through the worst water crisis in 70 years

Water in Uruguay no longer tastes the same. In the midst of the water crisis, the Government has decided to mix the remaining supplies of fresh water with water from the Río de la Plata estuary, raising its sodium and chloride levels. The move sparked protests in the capital and growing concern about the state of liquid reserves.

Despite the rains forecast for the next few days, the outlook is not optimistic. Some 650,000 cubic meters per day are required to supply the capital and the Severino Pass, one of the main reserves, is at historical lows not seen since 1949.

The lack of recourse has begun to put tension between political actors. The president of the union of workers of the state company Obras Sanitarias del Estado (OSE), Federico Kreimerman, has blamed the lack of state investment for the current deficit.

The opposition has revived the specter of the Casupá Project, raised by the previous government as a way to raise freshwater reserves. The current administration, on the other hand, has focused on the private tender of the Neptuno water treatment plant.

Follow all the international information on Facebook and Twitter, or in our weekly newsletter.