According to Ursea, the main source that supplies the metropolitan area is at the lowest level since records were kept.
The Regulatory Unit for Energy and Water Services (ursea) reported that the Severino Pass dam (Florida), the main source of water that supplies the metropolitan area of cannelloni and Montevideo“suffer from decreased volume biggest in history“, since there are records.
As Ursea explained, the drop in volume is explained “due to the serious drought that we are going through in the national territory“, and that also adds”to the zeroing of the second reserve“, the one of canelon grande stream (cannelloni), whence “SBI drank water until it ran out“.
The state company indicated that as a result of this, “the running waters water with higher salinity levels is being treated”, which is “a mixture of water from the Paso Severino reservoir (fresh water) and the lower section of the Santa Lucia River (higher levels of salinity because it is close to its mouth in the Silver river)”.
As a result of this, consumers of Canelones and Montevideo “may perceive a different flavor than usual due to the increase in dissolved salts, particularly chlorides,” according to the report of the Decentralized Service.
The document details that the National Bromatological Regulations, based on recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO), is the one who defines the regulations of the maximum values allowed in the different parameters in water for human consumption.
In turn, it clarifies that “the body with the authority to rule on possible effects on health in our country is the Ministry of Public Health (MSP)”, and that “OSE submitted a temporary exception request to the MSP” regarding the maximum values allowed for the metropolitan area system, “until the reserves of the Santa Lucía river basin are recovered.”
The Ursea assures that the measures in the water of OSE are temporary
Ursea insists that it will continue to carry out “the corresponding monitoring”, and reiterated that “this is an exceptional measure“, and “when the reserve of Paso Severino and Canelón Grande is recovered, OSE will once again operate the Aguas Corrientes plant as it usually doesdrinking mostly fresh water.
“As a result of the water deficit, periodic meetings are being held to learn about and evaluate the necessary measures to maintain the water supply to the population,” the report added.
Source: Ambito
