For days now, the noise of heavy drilling equipment in the 60-hectare Batlle Park, known as Montevideo’s “green lung”, has become familiar to residents. Workers from the state-owned water company OSE are working to tap groundwater to supply hospitals and schools in the area. “There is always a plan B. We are drilling for groundwater in Montevideo because of the water crisis,” geologist Valeria Arballo, who oversees the search for groundwater, told AFP.

As Uruguay’s most populous city with 1.8 million people, Montevideo has long relied on surface water. However, the three-year drought has been the city’s worst in 70 years. So OSE decided to tap into its groundwater. Two new wells, 42m and 90m deep, have been put into operation. The water from these wells is treated before being distributed to residents.

Workers from the state-owned water company OSE drill a well to find groundwater in the capital Montevideo, Uruguay. Photo: AFP

The Montevideo government plans to drill more wells if the water shortage remains at the alarming level. AFP reported that Montevideo's main source of fresh water, Paso Severino Lake, 85km north of the capital, will soon dry up if it does not rain. The water level in the lake is at an all-time low. At one point, the lake had only 4.4 million cubic metres of water left compared to its full capacity of 67 million cubic metres. Meanwhile, the South American capital consumes an average of 550,000 cubic metres per day.

In an attempt to prevent the prospect of running out of fresh water, OSE mixed brackish water from nearby sites near the Plate River with water from the Paso Severino Lake, much to the dismay of consumers. In addition, the city's health authorities extended an emergency permit for higher sodium and chloride levels in the water until July 20. They also allowed an increase in the level of trihalomethanes (THMs) - chemical compounds that form when water is chlorinated and are harmful if consumed over many years. "Increasing THMs for 45 days certainly does not affect people's health," AFP quoted Uruguayan Health Minister Karina Rando as saying in a statement explaining the decision.

Khanh Ngan