Lagoon of the Willow

Laguna del Sauce is a subtropical shallow lake and the largest water body in the Maldonado Department of Uruguay. It is located 15 kilometres west of Punta del Este. The lake is the only freshwater ecosystem in the country classified for drinking water as its principal use.Originally a coastal lagoon, the lake was damned for military purposes in 1947. The closed ecosystem makes the lake prone to eutrophication, and has had regular algae blooms—one of which, in 2015, included cyanobacteria that disrupted water supplies.