The Uruguayan government ended this Wednesday the water emergency in Montevideo and its surroundings. The crisis had been decreed two months ago to ensure the supply of drinking water in the midst of a prolonged drought.

President, Luis Lacalle Pousaid that he made the decision before the recovery of part of the flow of the water courses and the reservoirs that supply the metropolitan area, where some 1.8 million inhabitants reside, more than half of the country’s population.

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The news came out after the heavy rains that fell on both banks of the Río de la Plata in recent days.

«Today we can see the quality of the water, which is very good, with some peace of mind, and see the days ahead with a very good water supply,» he told reporters.

What was the origin of the water crisis that shook Montevideo

In recent months, the worst water deficit since the beginning of records, 74 years agos, jeopardized the pumping of drinking water to Montevideo and towns in the neighboring departments of Canelones and San José.

Given the exceptional lack of rain, the state company Obras Sanitarias del Estado (OSE) began to mix the scarce fresh water with flows from the Río de la Plata estuary at the end of April, with which the tap water came out salty.

But recent rainfall in the region eased the situation, reported AFP.

According to the latest official balance, as of August 22, the Paso Severino reservoir, the main freshwater reservoir for the area, had more than 36.6 million cubic meters of a total capacity of 67 million.

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On the other hand, the sodium and chloride values ​​of the water in the pumping lines for the metropolitan area were below the limits allowed by current regulations, of 200mg/l and 250mg/l, respectively.

In recent months, Paso Severino reached a little more than 1% of its capacity, and there were days when the sodium and chloride values ​​even exceeded the maximum authorized exceptionally, of 440mg/l and 720mg/l.

The June 19 decree declaring a water emergency enabled the government to finance two liters of mineral water a day for more than 500,000 people, as well as exempt bottled water from taxes. In addition, it facilitated the works for the construction of a new dam and pipes for the transfer of water from one river to another.

Lacalle estimated the disbursement to alleviate the water crisis in the capital’s metropolitan area at “close to 70 million dollars”.