The heatwave is measured not just in degrees, but also by the agony of opening a faucet and hearing the hiss of air or seeing a tiny trickle. In various parts of the city and neighboring towns, the water crisis is no longer a temporary nuisance but has become a health and economic emergency. Thousands of families are forced to juggle the inability to maintain basic hygiene while bills for services come in with the punctuality of the Swiss clock.
One of the focal points of the drama is in Altos de San Lorenzo 27, between 79 and 80. There Marcela Stigelmeier summarizes the helplessness of many: “For two days I have been complaining that I have no water, and I have the payment until March. Not a drop comes out. I have to buy water for my family and my animals.” The lack of services impacts the economy. She pays a monthly bill of 22,000 pesos, to which she has to add the daily cost of a six-liter barrel to support her husband, daughter and two pets. About two thousand pesos a day without tap water.
“I don’t have water but I don’t call because I’m told that no one has called to complain and that’s a shame. The problem exists in the entire area, at least on 27th Street, from 76th to 85th,” fumes another resident of Altos de San Lorenzo. “You can’t clean it, you have to take care of the bath water and buy it to drink. A neighbor doesn’t have anything for everything. I don’t eat vegetables or salad because you have to wash a lot and there’s no water for that,” he admits, showing how the empty tap takes away the essentials.
The contradiction is complete: while some blocks lack water, others have plenty of water. María, 70, between 28 and 29, complains that the pipe wastes water on the sidewalk. “We have been placing orders for more than five months and they have not come. I already have tainted water on my sidewalk. They have lifted the tiles and they have not come,” he claims.
The drought map extends to 132 between 71 and 72, where residents have been without supplies for four days. “We have already complained, but they ignore us,” complains a neighbor. At 46 between 139 and 140 the situation is “enormous”. A neighbor explains that the only way to get some pressure is through private investment: “If I don’t install a pump, I have no water, it doesn’t flow into the tank and I have nothing to drink. Every summer it’s the same for years and I pay. I’m always up to date.” In Malvinas, also in San Carlos, an entire neighborhood without water: “There is a pump in the sanitary room at numbers 149 and 35, but it doesn’t work and it is the only place where we can get water,” said Luis.
Another aggravating loss in Barrio Talleres. The pump supplying the zone network has a leak and the pressure has dropped by 52 and 141 is displayed.
Given the deluge of complaints, ABSA reported a power outage affecting wells 44 and 25 and affecting the 40 to 45 and 22 to 28 quadrants. Therefore, she called for “taking care of reserves for hydration and urgent tasks.”
In City Bell, Eduardo Romero (461B and 18) says: “Summer is coming and it’s always the same: we’re running out of water. It’s a disaster. They’re good for recharging, but not for providing services.” In Melchor Romero, the Las Rosas neighborhood is also suffering. Leo, 519 and 159, assures that they have been without supplies for weeks and that a “thread” only appears at dawn.
The crisis reaches Villa Progreso, Berisso. A neighbor from 124 and 68 points out that the problems started in December: “You can’t live like this anymore. To make things worse, they made a secret connection and perforated the entire pipe.” Finally, in 15 between 162 and 163, Julio recounts the ordeal: “You have to collect water from a tap almost at floor level in order to use it in the house. Not to mention that it has to be piped all the way to the tank.”
The neighbors of 139 between 50 and 52 in San Carlos also expressed their discomfort. “We have not had water for 15 days. There are children and the elderly who cannot hydrate and disinfect themselves. It is inhumane to live like this. We pay the ABSA bill, we are up to date and they are not providing the essential services. It is a shame, we are tired and complaining and there is no response. 3976845/11 is the complaint number.”
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