According to the president of the CIU, Fernando Pache, there are already companies that had to discontinue products due to excessive salinity in the water.
The Chamber of Industries of Uruguay (CIU) alerted about the state of companies and industries in the midst of the water crisis, while its production is affected by the increase in salinity in an essential resource also for manufacturing. According to the entity, some companies have already had to discontinue products.
The water situation in the metropolitan area is critical, and the scarcity of water not only affects daily consumption, but also the production of many companies that need this resource to manufacture their products. Above all, those drinkable and edible, which have suffered variations in their flavors due to excess sodium and chloride in the liquid that distributes the National Administration of State Sanitary Works (OSE).
“There are companies that have equipment to shovel this, either through the purchase of water. There are companies that don’t,” he said. Fernando Pache, president of the CIU, in dialogue with the radio program En Perspectiva. In this sense, he warned that there are already companies that had to stop production due to salinity in the water. “If you have salinity in the water and you make ravioli, obviously you can’t sell it salty,” he gave as an example.
The manager also pointed out that the problems did not only occur at the level of flavor of the productsbut, in some cases, they were also affected tools in the production plants due to the higher concentration of chlorides and sodium.
Pache estimated that if the situation continues for those who had to discontinue production, it is most likely that employees will be sent to unemployment insurance, which would also be a new concern for the government. Regarding the alternatives that could be foreseen, the manager acknowledged that no one expected such a situation: “The reality is that water comes from the sky. If it does not rain, there will be no reservoirs that will serve. What more forecasts could the industrialists who have a lot of load have on their backs?he asked himself.
Companies, suffocated by the lack of water
The CIU presented yesterday a survey on the use of water in production processes by the national industry, which showed that 69% of the companies that use OSE water do not have an alternative plan in the next two weeks due to restrictions in the supply of water or supply cuts.
In turn, the survey revealed that 78% of these companies that do not have an alternative plan should suspend their production in the event of an affectation in the water supply of the state water company; a situation that is already beginning to be experienced among productive organizations. On the other hand, 31% affirmed that they did have an alternative, and 76% said that they could substitute at least 50% of the service provided by the state company.
Of the total 153 responses received to prepare the report, a portion that represents 10% of formal industrial employment in the country, 58% of the companies reported that they do use OSE water in their production processes. 62% of them also expressed that the increase in salinity in the fluid has affected the quality of production or damaged equipment and machinery.
Source: Ambito
