Uruguay: legislation approved to make sewerage connections compulsory

All households in Uruguay must now have a  sewerage connection. Uruguay’s House of Representatives passed a bill making sewerage connections compulsory on 5 July 2011.

The new bill includes provisions to provide subsidies and grants to those who cannot afford a connection, as well as fines for those who fail to comply with the new law.

In the capital Montevideo, the local government will administer the new law, while state water utility OSE will be responsible for the rest of the country.

While improved rural sanitation coverage was estimated to be 99% in 2008 (WHO/UNICEF, 2010), some 50,000 households are still not connected to a sewerage network. In some areas only 15% of households have sewerage connections.

Source: La Republica [in Spanish], 05 Jul 2011

Uruguay: drinking water for 355 rural schools and villages

In the presence of President José Mujica, Spanish ambassador Aurora Díaz-Rato and singer Jorge Drexler, a US$ 6.85 million grant agreement was signed for a four-year program that will improve water and sanitation at 355 rural schools, improving access to water for 24,000 people.

Left to right: Pres. José Mujica, Carlos Colacce (OSE), Jorge Drexler

The grant for the “Small Rural Communities Water Supply Program” comes from the Spanish Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation in Latin America and the Caribbean. The government of Uruguay will provide an additional US$ 6.85 million for the programme administered by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and executed by the state-owned utility OSE.

The program focuses on rural schools, which play a key role in social integration and are at the centre of community initiatives. OSE has already started the program in 37 localities, each with an average of 20 houses. OSE charges a “social” tariff of 53 pesos (US$ 2.60) for up to 15 cubic metres of water.

By focusing on rural schools, the program will help maximize the benefits of installed water supply capacity and introduce education in hygiene and water conservation. It will begin by installing public standpipes and cylindrical water towers common in many rural areas. At a later stage, individual home connections will be implemented.

The program will upgrade schools’ water and sanitation infrastructure and ensure proper management of wastewater.

The grant signing ceremony was the the first official appearance of Jorge Drexler as “Water Ambassador” for Latin America and the Caribbean. The Spanish government appointed the Oscar-winning Uruyguan musician and doctor as goodwill ambassador for the Spanish Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation in Latin America and the Caribbean on World Water Day 2010.

Related web sites:

• IDB – UR-X1007: Water Program for small Rural Communities
• IDB – Spanish Cooperation Fund for Water and Sanitation in Latin America and the Caribbean
• OSE – Obras Sanitarias del Estado

Source: Portal 180 [in Spanish], 16 Sep 2010 ; OSE, IDB, 30 Jul 2010 ; Portal 180, 22 Mar 2010

Uruguay: OSE starts renewing Artigas pipelines in September 2010

Uruguay’s state-owned water and sanitation utility OSE aims to begin work on a project to reduce water losses in Artigas city in September 2010. The utility is currently holding a tender process to hire a company to carry out the work.

Related site: World Bank

Read full article in: BNamericas, [subscription site], 18 June 2010

Uruguay: OSE investing US$15mn to expand water services to small towns and schools

Uruguay’s state-owned water utility OSE is investing US$15mn to make sure all rural areas have potable water services by end-2011, the government said in a release. The Spanish international cooperation agency for development (AECID) will cover half of the cost, with OSE covering the other 50%.

Read full article on: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 12 Apr 2010

Uruguay: OSE implements measures to increase domestic sewerage connections

Uruguayan state-owned water utility OSE is implementing measures to increase domestic sewerage connections in the country. Measures include waiving the connection fee for households outside capital Montevideo, offering loans and new proposed legislation making connection to the public network obligatory.

Read full article on: BNamericas.com [subscription site] , 08 Feb 2010

Uruguay, Argentina: data misintrepreted in transboundary water pollution dispute

A summary of Uruguay’s and Argentina’s court sessions at the Hague’s international court of justice regarding a dispute over the environmental effects of Uruguay’s Botnia pulp mill has revealed Argentina’s mismanagement of data, Uruguayan paper El Observador reported.

A document, drawn up by Uruguay’s national environmental authority Dinama, states that Argentina used data provided by Uruguay’s state-owned water utility OSE in an effort to prove that the plant has indeed contaminated the waters of the Uruguay river, shared by the two countries.

According to Dinama, Argentina used OSE’s data to state that Botnia had damaged the quality of the river’s waters, surpassing the limits of dissolved oxygen established by the Uruguay river management committee (Caru).

The Argentine officials, however, used OSE’s oxidability data which cannot be used in the same way. High levels of dissolved oxygen indicate good water quality, while low levels of oxidability indicate the same thing.

Argentine officials submitted the data to prove that the river’s waters had been contaminated, stating that the levels of dissolved oxygen had dropped using OSE’s oxidability data. In other words, they technically proved that the river’s water quality is good.

The Hague is expected to deliver its verdict in 2010.

Botnia, located in Rio Negro department’s Fray Bentos town, has been the subject of a long-standing dispute between Uruguay and Argentine authorities. Argentina alleges the pulp industry processing system is contaminating, regardless of what environmental reports indicate.

Argentina also claims the installation of the plant is at odds with a bilateral agreement dating back to the 1970s regarding joint management and initiatives on the Uruguay river, and that the Botnia project was carried out without first consulting with Buenos Aires.

Numerous studies, many of which have been carried out by international organizations, show that the river’s waters have not been altered by activities at the pulp mill.

Related web site: International Court of Justice – Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay (Argentina v. Uruguay)

Source: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 30 Oct 2009

Latin America: Govt seeks to regulate shared waters to guarantee supply

The Uruguayan government is trying to reach agreements with Brazilian, Paraguayan and Argentine authorities to regulate the construction of dams and implement better industrial wastewater control policies to reduce the impact of economic development on the Uruguay river.

Uruguayan authorities are concerned about the lack of coordination of regional water resources. The problem is affecting water supply for the dams along the river. [...] The heavy rains that have fallen over the last week have not been enough to fill reservoirs in the northwest, including the Salto Grande dam, on the Uruguay river.

The river’s water flow has dramatically decreased due to the construction of new dams further north, shared by Brazil and Argentina, and by Brazil and Paraguay, the official said.

[...] Regionally unregulated projects and contamination from neighboring countries not only affect Uruguay’s energy and potable water generation, but also impact industrial activity. [T]he problem regarding the use of shared waters also affects Uruguayan departments Paysandú and Río Negro, where pulp mill Botnia is located.

[A]ll industrial initiatives near the Uruguay river are planned and built according to certain water level projections, in order to guarantee suitable industrial wastewater treatment. If the river’s water level drops, however, the efficiency of these treatment systems could be affected.

Source: Eva Medalla, BNamericas [subscription site], 02 Jul 2009

Latin America: Govts sign multilateral water cooperation agreement

Government representatives from Chile, Spain, Peru and Uruguay signed an international technical cooperation agreement on water resources and the expansion of drinking water and sanitation services. The agreement was signed in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 29 February 2008. Other Latin American countries are expected to join the initiative in the near future. Planned activities for this 4 million euro (US$ 6 million) multilateral initiative include the installation of a non-conventional wastewater treatment system in Uruguayan department Canelones, the training of technicians, and strengthening of local, national and regional water and sanitation institutions.

Source: Business News Americas [subscription site], 29 Feb 2008