With only salty and foul-smelling water available to residents of the Uruguayan capital, Google plans to build a data center there that will use millions of liters of water a day to cool its servers.
“It’s not the drought it is plunder“. This slogan, thought up by Carmen Sosaa member of the Uruguayan Commission for the Defense of Water and Life is affixed to many walls in Montevideo, the capital.
According to the Huffington Post More than half of Uruguay’s residents no longer have access to drinking water for months. It is the country’s worst drought in 74 years. The main freshwater reservoir in Paso Severino (near Montevideo) is only 2% full.
The Uruguayan government was surprised by this crisis and declared: “Emergency“. The public water supply company (OSE) has decided Gradually add salt water to fresh water from the mouth of the Rio de la Plata. The water is described by locals as “bad” and too saltyand its color is brownish.
7.6 million liters of water per day
Karina RandoPublic Health Minister insists tap water in Montevideo is ‘healthy unless […] Pregnant women, people with high blood pressure [près d’un tiers de la population uruguayenne selon l’Organisation mondiale de la santé, NDLR] as well as people with chronic kidney disease, heart and liver problems.”
Demonstrations erupted at the end of June, claiming: “water for the people”. Those present stamped empty bottles on the floor, symbolizing their desire for more drinking water.
While the situation already seems out of control, a new element has come into play in the past few days. The giant Google bought almost 20 hectares of land in Uruguay to build a data center there 7.6 million liters of water per day to cool its servers.
Given the controversy this project caused, the government assured that it had been withdrawn in favor of a plant with less water consumption. But that’s not enough to curb the residents’ anger.
Experts assume that if no alternative is found at the Paso Severino reservoir, running water in Uruguay will no longer be drinkable in a few days.