The Santa Lucía River () is a river in

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

Course

The headwaters of the Santa Lucía River are in the

Lavalleja Lavalleja (; ) is a Departments of Uruguay, department of Uruguay. Its capital is Minas, Uruguay, Minas. It is located in the southeast of the country, bordered to the north by the department of Treinta y Tres Department, Treinta y Tres to the ea ...

department. For a large part of its course it forms the limit between the departments of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and San José on one bank and Canelones and

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

on the other. Its outlet is the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, forming a small delta, in which Tiger Island is located.

Economic importance

It is the principal watercourse of southern

. It is the primary source of drinking water for

and other localities in the south of the country, in 2017 serving over 60% population of Uruguay with drinking water. A harmful algae bloom in 2013, that changed the flavor and odour of the drinking water trigger public concern about water quality, resulting in a government action plan to track the quality and try to clean up the water body. The river is part of an important agricultural zone in Uruguay producing maize and corn.

Environmental issues

Because of its location in an important agricultural zone in the South of Uruguay, nutrient runoff and

eutrophication Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...

is common due to intensive agriculture. A 2008-2009 study found phosphorus and nitrogen pollution exceeding both local and international standards and causing algae blooms. Additionally, a 2022 paper found that herbicide use in the basin further amplified the eutrophication. Since a 2013 algea bloom, the Canelones Department and national government have been encouraging dairy farmers and other animal agriculture rpdoucers to improve their

effluent Effluent is wastewater from sewers or industrial outfalls that flows directly into surface waters, either untreated or after being treated at a facility. The term has slightly different meanings in certain contexts, and may contain various pol ...

management from animal operations, including

settling basin A settling basin, settling pond or decant pond is an earthen or concrete structure using sedimentation to remove settleable matter and turbidity from wastewater. The basins are used to control water pollution in diverse industries such as agric ...

s and other waste management practices.

References

External links

Rivers of Uruguay Río de la Plata Rivers of Montevideo Department Rivers of San José Department Rivers of Canelones Department Rivers of Florida Department Rivers of Lavalleja Department {{Uruguay-river-stub

Course

Economic importance

Environmental issues

See also

References

External links