With a crisis that escalated the political rung – both inside and outside the coalition – the scarcity of water and the measures carried out by the National Administration of State Sanitary Works (OSE) have given rise to talk in recent weeks, especially with the skyrocketing of bottled water sales, the subsidy from the Municipality of Montevideo and the recommendations of the Ministry of Public Health to the population at risk.
Sales soar and shortages are questioned
The increase in salinity in the water caused Montevideans to go to supermarkets to stock up on bottled water. According to a survey by the consulting firm Id Retail, which consulted local businesses, a 93% more of water bottles in Montevideo in the first days of May, compared to the same period, but last year.
The president of Cambadu, Daniel Fernandez, expressed the media Underlining that the sales of bottled water they tripled, which could cause the gondolas to run out of stock. This is because the production and distribution of this product remained at the same levels, which could compromise supply.
IMM measures
the mayor of Montevideo, Caroline Cosse, announced yesterday at a press conference measures that arose from the study of water in 15 polyclinics, where bottled water will be delivered to a target audience because points were found where the water exceeded the recently increased parameters of SBI.
The delivery of bottled water recipes will last, according to Cosse, as long as the measure of the Executive power for 45 days to raise the salinity parameters in the water. However, the measure only reaches a certain public made up of infants less than 6 months who need water to consume supplements, pregnant with blood pressure problems, as well as adults with hypertension and kidney failure.
The recommendations of the MSP
He Ministry of Public Health (MSP) reported through an official statement the new recommendations to take into account, by those who live in the metropolitan area of Montevideo and Cannelloni.
For the general population without a diagnosis of arterial hypertension, the MSP recommends:
- Maintain the usual daily water intake which may be entirely OSE water.
- Do not add salt to food in children starting semi-solid/solid diets (infants up to 2 years).
- To be possible, for the preparation of infant formulas, use mineral water.
- In population with higher risk of being hypertensive not known (older than 60 years) regular blood pressure checks are recommended.
On the other hand, for the population that uses antihypertensive drugs and diuretics:
- They should minimize the consumption of foods with excess sodium.
- They will be able to continue consuming OSE water up to one liter per day and it is recommended to complete your usual intake with mineral water.
While, for people with conditions such as cirrhosis, pregnant, chronic kidney disease, or heart failure, it recommends:
- Avoid as much as possible the consumption of OSE wateradvised by your attending physician.
- In case you have to take itit is recommended Do not exceed one liter of water per day and increase the frequency of blood pressure checks.
- Complete the intake of the daily volume of water recommended by your doctor.
According to the MSP, these recommendations are dynamic and will be subject to the situation detected.
Why is the water salty?
In order to make the drinking water reserves in the metropolitan area last longer, OSE decided in recent days once again increase the level of salinity in the mixture of drinking water that it distributes in the area.
This measure had already been taken by the board of the state company at the end of last month, when the proportion of sodium in the fluid increased from 200 milligrams per liter to 280 mg/L, while from chloride they went from 280 mg/L to 450 mg/L. Now, last Thursday, the Ministry of Public Health (MSP) authorized a new increase in the measures, which went to 400 mg/L and 700 mg/L respectively.
Current regulations provide for a ceiling of 250 mg/L of salinity, so current levels are well above. However, as when they took the measure at the end of April, the OSE and MSP authorities insisted that the decision will have no effect on health and that it only implies a sensitive difference to the “palate”.
In this sense, Minister Karina Rando emphasized: “They are not values that affect health. Sodium and chlorine are values that in our country are recommended up to a certain value, but not precisely because they affect health, but because in reality affect the conditions called electrical organs: that is, the taste, smell or color that the water may have”.
political tension
OSE’s decisions climbed the political ladder, questioning the company’s management, as well as the environment and public health ministers. In this sense, last Wednesday the Senate voted in favor of questioning the Ministers of the Environment, Robert Bouvierand that of Public Health, Karina Rando. A request that, later, will be moved to the directory of the National Administration of State Sanitary Works (OSE).
Added to this is the fact that the Broad Front presented in the Upper House of the Senate measures to be taken in order to improve the condition of citizens in the face of the water crisis.
Among the measures presented by the Broad Front are, firstly, granting vouchers of a value equivalent to 10 water drums to beneficiaries of the Uruguay Social Card of the Ministry of Social Development (Mides), as well as retirees and pensioners who receive a remuneration of less than two minimum pensions.
On the other hand, it proposes to exonerate VAT and imesi to bottled water, as well as to evaluate a significant reduction of the OSE fee to users in the area affected by the increase in sodium chloride in the product, something that the director of OSE had already raised, Edgardo Ortuno.
However, the questioning did not come only from the opposition since, within the coalition, Cabildo Abierto decided to impose itself and request the resignation of the OSE authorities.
Source: Ambito
