Water resources management in Chile

[1] A major reform to the 1981 Water Code was signed in 2005 to address social equity and environmental protection concerns.

Chile is negotiating formalized agreements with both Bolivia[3] and Argentina[4] to manage shared resources and water storage projects.

The largest river by volume, the Rio Baker is found in the Aysén Region, of Patagonia, and the Biobío, a source of hydropower, and the Maipo supplies Santiago with water.

As melting continues, experts agree that hydropower, irrigation, and water supply for human consumption may be diminished.

The new military government of General Augusto Pinochet began adopting free-market economic policies and then signed a new constitution in 1980.

As Hernan Buchi, ex-Finance Minister of Chile (1985–1989), stated, "the objective of the governmental action in this field was to create solid water use rights in order to facilitate the proper operation of the market as an allocation mechanism".

The problems include poor "environmental protection, river basin management, public interest, social equity, coordination of multiple uses, and resolution of water conflicts".

He goes on by saying that, "the current framework is characterized by a combination of elements that reinforce each other to maintain the status quo: With support from World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank economists and opposition from command and control proponents, the Chilean model is widely studied and documented for its methods that are at the same time innovative and ideologically divisive.

[7] Bauer proposed that together with the 1980 constitution, the 1981 water code has been successful in achieving many of its original priorities, especially those strengthening private property rights.

[2] Major aspects of the 2005 reform include: 1) Giving the President authority to exclude water resources from economic competition in cases where necessary to protect the public interest.

Source for tables above: FAO (2000) data updated with 2002 census figures; ***The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) (2006) Artificial storage.

Regions IV, VI, and VII (from table above) account for approximately 80% of Chile's artificial surface water storage.

[8] Nonpoint source pollution from agricultural runoff including nitrates from fertilizers and untreated sewage is contaminating underground waters.

From its inception in 1990, the Superintendencia de Servicios Sanitarios (SISS) put greater attention and effort towards increasing the number of adequate chlorination systems.

[20] Most of Chile's crops are grown in the central regions considered the agricultural heartland due to its temperate growing climate.

Chile made a conscious decision to produce high-quality products for the international market, therefore, increasing their annual exports.

To achieve this, improvements in irrigation and water management systems were implemented to grow grapes, other fruits, cereals, and vegetables.

The Supreme Court eventually ruled in favor of non-consumptive use because it has a higher value and greater potential to create economic growth.

[21] The HidroAysén project is being opposed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Ecosistemas, the Citizen Coalition for Aysen Life Reserve, and Chilean celebrities.

[24] A relevant sidenote, US trained free-market economists instrumental in re-writing Chilean laws in the 1970s known as the "Chicago Boys", advised the Chilean government that market mechanisms could perhaps motivate users to save water, sell their surplus, and transfer water rights to higher value users in other sectors.

Additionally, the DOH provides assistance in the construction and maintenance of major water supply including irrigation and drainage infrastructure.

In the case of water quality management, CONAMA has established emission standards for discharges of wastewaters into sewerage systems, surface and groundwater and enforcement policies, penalties and fines for non compliance.

SISS sets rates for sanitary services for the economy ministry, oversees compliance with norms, and regulates the control of environmental waste.

[4] Objectives in Article I of the protocol state, "the parties shall agree that the actions and programs concerning the use of shared water resources be undertaken under the concept of integrated management of the watersheds.

Additionally, Bolivia's foreign relations minister David Choquehuanca has proposed a daily extraction fee totaling about US$6 million per year.

This office adds, "glacial melt, shifts in rainfall patterns, expanding deserts, and greater frequency in El Niño will have an impact on water supply.

The IPCC report goes on to say that glaciers in Chile are drastically reducing their volume at an increasing rate and that changes in temperature and humidity are the primary cause.

[11] In an article from Science Daily in March 2008, the news agency reports that, "if the inter-tropical glaciers of Chile, Argentina, and Colombia disappear, water availability and hydropower generation will be affected."

[33] Possible reasons include low environmental flows, climate change impacts, and mining effluents, but direct links have not been established.

The Ministry of Planning will determine technical and economic feasibility of eligible project proposals and the program will be carried out by the Subsecretary of Regional Development.