{"id":60115944,"date":"2026-01-09T12:02:05","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T12:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?p=60115944"},"modified":"2026-01-09T15:57:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T15:57:00","slug":"uruguays-intricate-path-to-securing-fresh-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/water\/uruguays-intricate-path-to-securing-fresh-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Uruguay\u2019s intricate path to securing fresh water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The drought of 2023 produced one of the starkest images of Uruguay\u2019s water crisis: Paso Severino reservoir, south-central Uruguay, practically empty<\/a>. Lack of rainfall caused the drying up of the Santa Luc\u00eda Basin, which is the Montevideo metropolitan area\u2019s only source of fresh water. The government was forced to supply 1.7 million people with a mix of fresh and salt water for 70 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uruguay has struggled with drought since 2018, with more than 60%<\/a> of the country affected between 2022 and 2023. Successive governments have flip-flopped on what to do. The country\u2019s previous president, Luis Lacalle Pou, proposed the Neptuno Project<\/a> \u2013 a water intake plant to be built on the Rio de la Plata Estuary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>
Recommended<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n

The current president, Yamand\u00fa Orsi, has scrapped that project since he assumed office in March last year. Instead, his administration has revived old plans to build a dam in Casup\u00e1, in the central department of Florida. The plan has the potential to solve Uruguay\u2019s water issues, but farmers claim they have been left in the dark regarding details of the necessary seizure of 46 farms. Meanwhile, others say progress on the dam has been too slow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Casup\u00e1 dam<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Casup\u00e1 is located in eastern Florida, near the department\u2019s borders with Lavalleja to the east and Canelones to the south \u2013 and approximately 90 km north of Montevideo. The town lies amidst valleys, mountain ranges and wetlands. Its name means<\/a> \u201con the edge of the big forest\u201d in Guaran\u00ed, an Indigenous language of South America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The dam project dates back to the 1960s<\/a>, resurfacing in 2019<\/a> as the water crisis underlined the need for secure supplies. An environmental impact study was carried out in 2017. In October 2025, the government received a loan<\/a> of USD 130 million from the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) to fund both an update of this study and the dam\u2019s eventual construction. Meanwhile, bids have been submitted for the project. Construction<\/a> is slated to begin in early 2027 and reach completion in mid-2029.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is La Ni\u00f1a?<\/p>

La Ni\u00f1a is the opposite phase of El Ni\u00f1o in the El Ni\u00f1o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). During La Ni\u00f1a, cooler-than-average sea temperatures are noted in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. Like El Ni\u00f1o, it affects patterns of rainfall and atmospheric pressure worldwide.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, Uruguay is experiencing another summer of uncertain water supplies. The current summer months \u2013 usually November to February \u2013 have been marked by below- or near-normal rainfall in much of the country and higher than usual temperatures. This has been influenced by the La Ni\u00f1a phenomenon, according<\/a> to the Uruguayan Institute of Meteorology (INUMET). On 30 December, Uruguay\u2019s State Waterworks (OSE) activated<\/a> measures in anticipation of drought, including emergency infrastructure preparation and the announcement of water conservation guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The meteorologist Nubel Cisneros tells Dialogue Earth that water shortages are going to become significant during January and February. He predicts this summer\u2019s rainfall will be between 40% and 60% below average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmental impacts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Casup\u00e1 dam may be a potential long-term solution, but it will have several impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some 426 hectares<\/a> of native forest and 787 hectares of natural grassland will be cleared, according to a report commissioned by the OSE. The dam\u2019s environmental impact assessment features 26 species<\/a> prioritised for conservation by SNAP (the government\u2019s National System of Protected Areas) that are thought to be implicated in this land clearing. That includes birds such as the white-winged grassquit, spotted lizard (Stenocercus azureus<\/em>), and mammals like the marmosa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"map<\/div>
(Data source: National Environmental Observatory (OAN) \/ Map: Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, the proposed reservoir area encroaches into Serran\u00edas del Este, which has been identified<\/a> as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA). The IBA initiative lists<\/a> thousands of sites around the world that are considered important for the conservation of birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leticia Peralta works with her family to take care of about 1,000 head of cattle within the dam\u2019s proposed reservoir zone. Forty per cent of their farmland would be flooded. Peralta\u2019s camera traps have recorded some of the local wildlife: \u201cIt is very important to keep their habitats and ecosystems intact, because if they move there, it is because everything is in balance.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project as presented by OSE<\/a> includes a wildlife rescue programme, which would transfer low-mobility species to nearby conservation areas. A buffer zone<\/a> of approximately 800 hectares around the reservoir would be installed, with the intention of compensating for the loss of native forest and grassland, by restoring ecosystems and biological corridors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n