the sustained salinity of the water provided by the state company SBI in Montevideo and the metropolitan area caused an increase of up to 60% in the repairs of water heaters, hot water tanks and washing machines.
Given the scarcity of fresh water due to the historical drop in Severine Pass -which last week reached almost 1% of its capacity- for weeks water from the Silver riverwhich contains sodium and chlorides, to supply homes in Montevideo and surrounding areas, but the quality of the liquid is harming users’ appliances and faucets.
“The increase in repairs has been very noticeable in the last two months. Minerals and sodium gather at the bottom of the hot water tank and damage the resistance. It increased by 60%, before we saw 10 or 15 people a day and today we are serving around 100”, told Télam Sergio, manager of the company’s plant Rivomark from the Malvín neighborhood, which provides repair services for three brands of water heaters.
“We have delivery service with a delay of 10 to 15 days, when before the maximum was 3 days. Here, at the plant, we are very delayed, we take at least 4 days for repairs,” he specified, commenting that “it is a difficult time but most customers understand it.
Nicolás, 32 years old and a native of the Unión neighborhood, arrived at the Malvín plant with the resistance of his water heater in hand, since he had to remove it himself due to the delay in home service. “The salt causes the copper to crack and it loses water through that place. I don’t want to wait, I took out the spare to buy it and put it in, even if I lose the guarantee, but I want the water heater to bathe,” the young man complained, and lamented that the local no longer had that part to sell him.
A few weeks ago, the government of Luis Lacalle Pou he ordered the reduction of taxes to lower the price of bottled water since thousands of users choose to buy the drums instead of drinking the salty water that comes out of the tap.
“The situation is horrible, we end up having an extra cost, which is buying water, even though taxes have been lowered, spending is the same,” criticized Nicolás.
José, 45 years old and from the La Blanqueada neighborhood, also had to change the resistance of the hot water tank, which cost him 2,000 pesos. “It’s a shit what’s happening, speaking badly and soon. Everything has broken, the heater, the washing machine and the faucets are all rusty,” the man commented as he put the device in the trunk of his car. “I haven’t had tap water for a long time, but it tastes like salt when I bathe,” he said.
Source: Ambito
