Water Crisis May Compromise Bahia Blanca Industrial Zones in Argentina

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Bahia Blanca, a city in the southwestern area of the Buenos Aires province in Argentina, contains one of the most important industrial zones in the country. The city is undergoing the worst water crisis in its history, and this situation could affect operations of the processing facilities located in the industrial zone.

The water shortage is a result of a long drought that has been affecting the city's main water source, the Paso de las Piedras dam, located 60 kilometers away. The dam supplies the more than 400,000 inhabitants of Bahia Blanca, as well as local industries, including petrochemical production and about 55% of the nation's polyethylene and plastics production. Companies in the area include Solvay Indupa SAIC (Buenos Aires), PBB Polisur SA (Bahia Blanca) and Dow Quimical Argentina SA (Buenos Aires). Additionally, a petroleum refinery owned by Petrobras Energia (NYSE:PZE) (Buenos Aires) is in the area, as is a fertilizers production plant of Profertil SA (Buenos Aires).

At the moment, Bahia Blanca's authorities and ABSA, the water company of the Buenos Aires province, are taking measures to provide solutions. Nine wells will be drilled in the Bajo San Jose Area in December 2009. Additionally, part of the flow of another nearby river, the Sauce Grande, will be diverted into the existing water system. Companies with plants in the industrial area of the city will implement their own measures to aid provincial and municipal authorities. Such is the case with Solvay Indupa SAIC, which will be implementing a series of upgrades in the water-recovery system in all of the company's processing facilities. The implementation of these modifications will take place in the short term, and authorities expect to have them running in the first quarter of 2010. This will help optimize water usage and lower the amount of water used in plant operations.

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