The water in Montevideo, the Uruguayan capital, usually comes from the Paso Severino reservoir, some 85 km north of it.
But its reserves have been dwindling for months: in mid-June they were 4.4 million m3 out of a total capacity of 67 million m3. The city consumes an average of 550,000 m3 per day.
“The situation remains very critical,” warns the public company that supplies drinking water to the whole country, Obras Sanitarias del Estado (OSE).
Two wells, 90 and 42 meters deep, have been drilled in the park, according to OSE. Since the end of April, it has been mixing fresh water from Paso Severino with water from a river that flows into the Rio de la Plata estuary and is therefore salty.
“It is very salty and its color is sometimes quite cloudy,” says Marcelo Fernandez, 43, who works in a shopping center. The Ministry of Health, however, ensures that the water that comes out of taps in the capital is “safe”.