Water supply and sanitation in Chile were once considered efficient and equitable but in 2022 Chile struggled to reliably provide water throughout the country. Chile's water resources have been strained by the Chilean water crisis, which was partially caused by a continuing mega drought that began in 2010, along with an increased demand for agricultural and other commercial interests.
Chile began rationing water in April 2022. Chile's water and sanitation sector distinguishes itself in a few key ways. First, all urban water companies are privately owned or operated (the only exception is SMAPA), and water was defined as a private commodity in the 1980 Constitution of Chile. Second, the Chilean government instituted a subsidy for water costs in 1990 for citizens located in impoverished regions. Third, Chile became the first Latin American country to achieve 100% of its population using basic water sanitisation in 2016.
Access
In 2015, 99% of the population of Chile had access to "improved" water, of which 99.6% were in urban and 93% in rural areas, and over 180 thousand people lacked access to "improved" water. For sanitation in Chile, in 2015, 99% of the population had access to "improved" sanitation, with 100% and 90%, in urban and rural areas, respectively. Around 170 thousand still lacked access to it.
According to the 2010 data from the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) (see below), Chilean urban areas with improved water coverage stood at 96% coverage and improved sanitation was also 96%, which is one of the highest levels in Latin America.
One of the reasons for the high coverage rates in Chile is the early effort to extend and improve the infrastructure (see below). As a result, in 1990, 97% of the urban population was already connected to water, and 84% of the population to sanitation.
Service quality
Since 1990 Service quality has been controlled by SISS. The agency examines if the services comply with the Chilean norm NCH 409, which was modified for the last time in 2005 and includes standards concerning water quality, water pressure, and continuity between others.
At the beginning of the 1990s, there were several problems regarding the chlorination systems of some water service providers. Consequently, in 1991 20% of the companies did not comply with the bacteriological norms. In 2006, this share had dropped to about 1%. In the same period, compliance with disinfection norms increased from 89% to more than 99%.
Water supply is continuous (24/7), both in urban and concentrated rural areas where water pressure is adequate.
The sector currently undergoes a complete wastewater treatment investment program to treat 100% of all collected municipal wastewater in 2012. This share has increased from 8% in 1989 to 82% in 2006.
Water use
Water use has gradually decreased since 1998. An estimated 96% of water consumption is measured, resulting in precise information concerning water consumption. In 2006, the total water consumption was 958 million m³. Therefore each customer used on average of 19.9 m³ per month, resulting in 196 litres daily p/capita. Water consumption is highest in the capital region, ranging from 44m³/month (Aguas Cordillera) to 125m³/month (Aguas de Manquehue).
History and recent developments
The Chilean water supply and sanitation sector today are recognized with one of the best coverage and quality levels in Latin America. One of the reasons was a gradual and lasting extension of infrastructure which began in the 1970s. In the 1990s, most utilities improved their economic efficiency and became self-financing companies, some of which have been transferred to the private sector.
Before 1977: A fragmented sector structure
Before 1977, urban water and sewer services in Chile were provided by a multitude of public entities. The largest entity was the Sanitation Department (Dirección de Obras Sanitarias, DOS) of the Ministry of Public Works, which was in charge of service provision in towns outside of the two largest cities, Santiago and Valparaíso. In these two cities, municipal utilities were responsible for service provision. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development also had water and sanitation departments. To guarantee its operation, the service was directly subsidised by the national government.