2023-06-27 15:19:00
In the middle of the water emergency issued by the government of Uruguay, the Ministry of Public Health refused to raise sodium and chloride levels for drinking water. Meanwhile, gynecology specialists discourage pregnant women from drinking tap water and recommend buying bottled water.
The drought that affects Montevideo, where half of the population of the eastern country lives, has now added a new conflict over water quality. In this case, it was a decision by the national health portfolio not to increase the level of salinity, taking into account the effects that it could generate on health.
On June 19, the president Luis Lacalle Pou announced via decree the water emergency for the country and said that “the numbers will surely rise” of chloride and sodium in the water that the government is taking from the Río de la Plata estuary, so that the reserves do not remain at zero.
Historical drought in Uruguay: Lacalle Pou declared a water emergency
“Basically, it is a rule of thumb: this quality of water for so many days, x, for thirty days. So, we are evaluating with the technicians from the Ministry of Public Health how far we could take these records so that the water continues to be drinkable, which is our first goal. I insist, We are making all these calculations based on the fact that it will not rain”, maintained the president.
According to the Uruguayan media The Observer, the MSP refused this week to increase these levels again. Six days ago, Obras Sanitarias del Estado de Uruguay (OSE) asked the ministry raise the sodium maximum from 440 milligrams per liter to 988 mg/l and 1,324 mg/l. They had also requested raise chloride levels from 720 mg/l to a value that oscillates between 1,700 mg/l and 2,300 mg/l.
Drought in Uruguay.
According to the OSE itself, since June 12 sodium and chloride levels were already above what was allowed.
In May, when the effects of the drought were already being felt in freshwater reserves, health minister Karina Rendo had said that the recommended limit was 480 milligrams of sodium per liter of water, although the maximum allowed value was 440 mg/l.
Specialists recommend pregnant women not to drink tap water
Two gynecology specialists explained that in the absence of evidence regarding the effects of saline water on health, the pregnant they should avoid drinking drinking water.
“It is not that if you drink water from the tap you will get a child without a face or all deformed, nor if you cook the noodles with OSE water, but Given the lack of evidence on the direct impact on human and fetal health, it is preferable not to do so.”, Claudio Sosa told El Observador.
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The specialist Leonel Briozzo stated that “we must be resounding” and prohibit pregnant women from drinking tap water. He also argued that “bottled water for them should be subsidized as a way of protecting them.”
From his perspective, “bottled water is not a panacea, scientific studies in 2019 identified the presence of microplastics in the placenta… but in the current state of affairs it is safer water than that which comes out of the tap.”
The price of water in Uruguay
While the legislature tries to debate a project that exempts bottled water and sodas from VAT, prices continue to move.
A survey of the Ministry of Economy and Finance carried out in recent days determined that a bottle of water between 2.25 and 2.5 liters has a value of $62.6. If the tax reduction were applied, the price would go to $49.
The price of mineral water and “chopped” water heaters: daily concerns about the water crisis in Uruguay
Beyond this, the president of the Center for Retail Storekeepers, Baristas, Self-Service Workers and Allied Services of Uruguay (Cambadu), Daniel Fernández, acknowledged that prices would not change as long as businessmen and merchants do not exhaust the stock they have, in addition to waiting for the new values to determine the gondola price.
LT
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