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Salty, gritty tap water has residents of Uruguay’s capital fuming as drought empties reservoir

Published:Thursday | June 29, 2023 | 4:19 PM
A state-owned water company employee takes a water sample from a well, in Montevideo, Uruguay, Wednesday, June 21, 2023. Many Uruguayans are having to choose between buying bottled water or consuming a saline solution due to water shortages that have led Uruguay to increase the drinking water supply by adding high salinity waters. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico)

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Residents of Uruguay's capital are increasingly exasperated after two months of salty-tasting tap water that has damaged water heaters, boosted demand for bottled water, and reportedly caused stomach ailments.

The water “comes out saltier and saltier so you can't drink it, but you're thirsty and so you need to drink it,” said homemaker Natalia Moreira, 33, who lives in one of Montevideo's poorer neighbourhoods.

She added that she and her children have been suffering stomach aches and diarrhoea.

“Now I have a coffee and go straight to the bathroom. Before, that didn't happen to me,” Moreira said.

People in Uruguay have always been able to safely drink the water that comes from their taps, unlike in some other Latin American countries.

But the country is now suffering its most severe drought in 44 years, following decades without investment in freshwater reservoirs.

The reservoir behind Uruguay's largest dam, Paso Severino, is only 2.6% filled.

Health officials have pushed back against widespread claims that the water causes stomach issues. The health ministry has said the ailments are more likely due to viruses, and assured the public as recently as two weeks ago that the water “is suitable for human consumption.”

However, the ministry has also cautioned that people suffering from certain health conditions and babies under two should not drink water from the tap.

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