We did years of internet research on Uruguay and month long trips, before moving here. The internet is full of misinformation on all subjects including Uruguay. Clean air and abundant, clean water were big priorities for us, and I read on the internet that Uruguay has the cleanest air and that one can drink water from any tap in Uruguay.
In terms of clean air, I believe it is the old adage that "dilution is the solution to pollution". With only 3.5 million people here the air is generally very clean, except in urban areas or if one is following an old, ill maintained vehicle. In urban areas the air pollution from vehicles is a year-round problem. Now that it is winter, and most people here heat their homes by burning wood, there is a great deal of smog in any city or town. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of wood burning and of the parilla, but when everyone is doing it in an urban environment, the general air quality is horrible. I have seen bundles of firewood for sale in Montevideo that are painted architectural wood, which undoubtedly contains lead which will be added to the air. There is also considerable ag burning of brush, leaves, and trash. Then there is the junk yard on Ruta 37 where they set fire to huge piles of refrigerators and such to reduce them to scrap steel. The thick, black cloud from all the burning plastic and insulation can be seen for miles. There are many bugs here and people use copious amounts of insecticides in their homes. There are RAID, plug-ins that, just like the automatic plug-in air fresheners, automatically spray insecticide indoors periodically. We would not have believed that these existed if we had not seen them.
Waste water/sewage is commonly disposed of in what is called a "pozo negro", a masonry lined pit tank that is intentionally built to leak and leach the liquid out so the solids can be periodically sucked out by the "bariometricos" (vac truck). These pozo negtos are often very close to, and contaminates water wells. In one picturesque beach community we stayed in, it is common for people to lower a sump pump into the pozo negro and pump the black water off of the solids when the tank is overfilled. This gets pumped into the gutter or a neighboring empty lot. Many water wells are shallow, 20-50 feet deep, which invites contamination from surface water and sewage infiltration. We stayed on a chacra outside of Colonia where the shallow water well was located in an orchard where herbicides were used heavily. When we realized this, we started buying bottled water to drink. The owner died of pancreatic cancer, and we wonder if herbicide contamination played a role in her death. While water from the water company OSE, is safe to drink, we recommend drinking bottled water until one is sure of the water quality from other sources.
In terms of clean air, I believe it is the old adage that "dilution is the solution to pollution". With only 3.5 million people here the air is generally very clean, except in urban areas or if one is following an old, ill maintained vehicle. In urban areas the air pollution from vehicles is a year-round problem. Now that it is winter, and most people here heat their homes by burning wood, there is a great deal of smog in any city or town. Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of wood burning and of the parilla, but when everyone is doing it in an urban environment, the general air quality is horrible. I have seen bundles of firewood for sale in Montevideo that are painted architectural wood, which undoubtedly contains lead which will be added to the air. There is also considerable ag burning of brush, leaves, and trash. Then there is the junk yard on Ruta 37 where they set fire to huge piles of refrigerators and such to reduce them to scrap steel. The thick, black cloud from all the burning plastic and insulation can be seen for miles. There are many bugs here and people use copious amounts of insecticides in their homes. There are RAID, plug-ins that, just like the automatic plug-in air fresheners, automatically spray insecticide indoors periodically. We would not have believed that these existed if we had not seen them.
Waste water/sewage is commonly disposed of in what is called a "pozo negro", a masonry lined pit tank that is intentionally built to leak and leach the liquid out so the solids can be periodically sucked out by the "bariometricos" (vac truck). These pozo negtos are often very close to, and contaminates water wells. In one picturesque beach community we stayed in, it is common for people to lower a sump pump into the pozo negro and pump the black water off of the solids when the tank is overfilled. This gets pumped into the gutter or a neighboring empty lot. Many water wells are shallow, 20-50 feet deep, which invites contamination from surface water and sewage infiltration. We stayed on a chacra outside of Colonia where the shallow water well was located in an orchard where herbicides were used heavily. When we realized this, we started buying bottled water to drink. The owner died of pancreatic cancer, and we wonder if herbicide contamination played a role in her death. While water from the water company OSE, is safe to drink, we recommend drinking bottled water until one is sure of the water quality from other sources.
