Water supply and sanitation in Chile

Last updated
Water supply and sanitation in Chile
Flag of Chile.svg
The flag of Chile
Data
Water coverage (broad definition)(improved water source) 96% (2010) [1]
Sanitation coverage (broad definition)(improved sanitation) 96% (2010) [1]
Share of collected wastewater treated82% (2006) [2]
Continuity of supply100% [2]
Average urban water use (L/person/day)196 (2006) [2]
Average urban water and sanitation tariff (US$/m3)n/a
Share of household metering96% (2006) [2]
Annual investment in WSSUS$23.1/capita (2006) [2]
Share of self-financing by utilitiesHigh
Share of tax-financingn/a
Share of external financingLow
Institutions
Decentralization to municipalitiesNo, central government regulation
National water and sanitation companyNone
Water and sanitation regulatorYes
Responsibility for policy settingMinistry of Public Works
Sector lawYes (1988, amended in 1998)
No. of urban service providers20
No. of rural service providersn/a

Water supply and sanitation in Chile were once considered efficient and equitable but in 2022 Chile struggled to reliably provide water throughout the country. [3] [4] Chile's water resources have been strained by the Chilean water crisis, which was partially caused by a continuing megadrought that began in 2010, [5] along with an increased demand for agricultural and other commercial interests. [6]

Contents

Chile began rationing water in April 2022. [7] 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. [8] Third, Chile became the first Latin American Country to achieve 100% of its population using basic water sanitation in 2016. [9]

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. [10]

[11] 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. [1]

Urban (89% of
the population)		Rural (11% of
the population)		Total
Water Improved water source 99%75%96%
Piped on premises99%47%93%
Sanitation Improved sanitation 98%83%96%
Sewerage (2006 JMP survey & census data)89%5%78%

One of the reasons for the high coverage rates in Chile is the early effort to extend and improve 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. [12]

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%. [2]

Water supply is continuous (24/7), both in urban and concentrated rural areas where water pressure is adequate. [13]

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. [2]

Water use

Map of Chile Ci-map-CIA.png
Map of Chile

Water use has gradually decreased since 1998. [14] 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). [2]

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.

1977–1988: The National Water Company SENDOS

In 1977, the national public water and sanitation company SENDOS (Servicio Nacional de Obras Sanitarias) was created, which had 11 regional branches. The municipal utilities in Santiago and Valparaíso were corporatized and modernized. During that time employment in the utilities was significantly reduced. [15]

The public utilities for Santiago and Valparaíso, EMOS (Empresa Metropolitana de Obras Sanitarias) and ESVAL (Empresa Sanitaria de Valparaiso) were strengthened through loans from the World Bank during that period. In parallel, the government of General Augusto Pinochet privatized the electricity and telecommunications sector. [16]

Water coverage during this period increased substantially from 78% in 1976 to 98% in 1988. Sewer coverage increased from 52% in 1976 to 82% in 1988. [17]

1988–1998: Corporatization and regulation

Coverage rates of urban Chile (1975-2006). Source of data: SISS Water and sanitation coverage in Chile.png
Coverage rates of urban Chile (1975–2006). Source of data: SISS

In 1988, the Chilean people denied General Augusto Pinochet a new term in a referendum, thus passing a key step in the country's transition to democracy. Unlike the privatization and liberalization in other infrastructure sectors, reform of the water and sanitation sector was thus not imposed by the military government but initiated in a climate of democracy.

Between 1988 and 1990, a number of legal reforms and the creation of new institutions had two principal objectives:

  1. The service providers should become self-financing through higher tariffs which represent the real costs of the services and more efficient performance
  2. Water supply and sanitation coverage and quality should become universal
Valparaiso 275-valparaiso.jpg
Valparaiso

Therefore, in December 1988 The General Water and Sanitation Law (Ley General de Servicios Sanitarios) allowed the granting of 13 regional concessions to public, private or mixed shareholding companies in each of Chile’s regions. In 1990 the regulatory agency SISS (Superintendencia de Servicios Sanitarios) was created through a separate law. An innovative model of tariff regulation was borrowed from the Chilean electricity and telecommunications sector: Efficient cost levels were estimated for an imaginary model company and used as a benchmark to set tariffs for the utilities. [18] Means-tested subsidies (i.e. subsidies that are granted only to those that demonstrably have limited means) were also introduced at the same time to cushion the effect of the tariff increase on the poor. The legal framework with some modifications is still in force today.

Initially, the regional companies remained public, but the intent was to prepare them for privatization. During that period they achieved financial self-sufficiency, were granted tariff increases, improved their efficiency and increased coverage. [19] The regional companies were also transformed into private law companies (Sociedades Anónimas). Investments increased from less than 80 million US dollars annually on average during the 1980s [20] to US$ 260m in 1998. [19] However, regional utilities still did not have sufficient resources to expand wastewater treatment.

1998-2004: Privatization

Under the government of Christian Democrat President Eduardo Frei, the law was amended in 1998 to promote private-sector participation. The stated motive was to increase efficiency, improve service quality and mobilize capital to extend wastewater treatment. Subsequently, all regional branches of SENDOS, as well as the water and sanitation companies of Santiago and Valparaiso, were privatized. Staffing was further reduced, new complaints management procedures were introduced and the share of collected wastewater treated increased significantly. [21]

Contrary to the case of many other Latin American cities where the private sector was asked to provide services, the Chilean service providers were financially self-sufficient when the private sector took responsibility for them. The public companies had been prepared to gradually improve efficiency and profitability since the legal reforms of 1988-1990. This may explain the stable process of private sector participation compared to other Latin American cases. [22] A factor that explains the continuity of sector policies during various administrations is the fact that all Presidents since Chile's return to democracy in 1990 belonged to the same Coalition of Parties for Democracy.

The privatization was carried out in stages, beginning with the five largest of the 13 regional water companies serving more than 75% of users. Because of the staging, it is possible to compare the performance of the privatized and public utilities at that time. This comparison shows that from 1998 to 2001 private companies invested substantially more than public companies and - unlike the public companies - increased their labor productivity significantly. Tariffs increased for both types of companies, but more so for the privatized ones. However, according to one study, "in Chile a social consensus emerged that has made the higher water rates acceptable given the improvements in service quality and the addition of new services such as wastewater treatment." [23]

The participation of the private sector occurred in two different ways. From 1998 to 2001, when the biggest companies were privatized, the majority of their shares were sold to private actors. The government then decided to not continue to sell parts of the companies, but to transfer the operation rights of the companies to private actors for 30 years between 2001 and 2004. This latter way of private sector participation, also known as a concession, differs substantially from selling shares of the companies because the infrastructure remains the property of the Chilean state. All seven companies which were privatized in the second way merged in 2005, assuming the name ESSAN. [2]

According to the World Bank's Private Participation in Infrastructure database, investment commitments by the private sector in Chile's water and sanitation sector reached 5.7 billion USD in 1993–2005 through 20 projects, with 4 billion USD of commitments made in 1999 alone through 4 projects. 7 projects were divestitures, 10 were concessions and 3 were greenfield projects in wastewater treatment plants. [24]

The Socialist Presidents Ricardo Lagos (2000–2006) and Michelle Bachelet (2006-2010, 2014-2018) maintained the basic institutional structure of the sector established under previous governments based on private service provision, means-targeted subsidies and regulation by a public, autonomous regulator.

Further changes in ownership

In 2011, the state-holding company Corfo sold its stakes in the three largest water companies—Aguas Andinas, Esval and Esbio—on the stock exchange, primarily to individual local and foreign shareholders. The sale of the 30% stake in Aguas Andinas alone brought the state revenues of USD 984 million. [25] The sale of the stakes in the two other companies brought USD 564 million in revenues. However, the planned sale of shares in a fourth water company, Essal, was suspended because of low prices offered. [26] In 2015, Antofagasta plc, which had won the concession for the local water supply in Antofagasta in 2003, sold its shares to the publicly owned Colombian multi-utility Empresas Públicas de Medellín (EPM)for USD 965 million.

Responsibility for water supply and sanitation

Policy and regulation

Santiago de Chile Stgo Abril.jpg
Santiago de Chile

Responsibility for sector policy in Chile is vested primarily in the Ministry of Public Works, which grants concessions and promotes rural water supply and sanitation through its Department of Sanitation Programs. The responsibility for regulation is shared between the Superintendencia de Servicios Sanitarios (in Spanish) SISS, the economic regulator in urban areas, and the Ministry of Health which controls drinking water quality standards in both urban and rural areas. [27]

Regulation in urban areas

The SISS controls water and sanitation services in urban areas according to financial and quality norms (see above). To guarantee political independence, it is a decentralized organization with its own budget. The SISS has the right to impose fines on the service providers in case of violation of norms, which directly flow into the regulator's budget. Furthermore, it receives user complaints, assesses their validity and acts on them. The agency has databases of all 53 urban service providers. [28]

The water and sanitation regulatory system in Chile is considered by the WHO to be a model not only for Latin America, but also for Europe. [29] One of its innovative features is the use of a hypothetical efficient model enterprise to assist in determining if tariff increases requested by service providers are justified.

Rural areas

In the Chilean rural areas, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Economy are responsible for supervising water cooperatives and water committees. In rural areas there is no independent regulator, such as the SISS in urban areas. Since 1994, the Direction for Water Works (DOH) is in charge of executing the national program of Rural Potable Water (APR). Unlike urban service providers, the rural water supply and sanitation sector has not been subject to regulation like urban services. Currently, the Government of President Bachelet has submitted before the Chilean Congress a Bill to give this sector a new institutional framework. [30] According to Law 19,549 of 1998, urban concessionaires have to provide technical and administrative assistance to water committees and cooperatives in their respective region. [2]

Service provision

The responsibility for service provision is different in urban and rural areas.

Urban areas

Water supply and sanitation services in Chile's urban areas is provided by 53 entities. To prevent monopolization, the providers were classified into three categories according to the percentage of the population served by them. No person or society is allowed to possess more than 49% of the companies within one category: [2]

CategoryCriterionNumber of companiesTotal category share of population
Bigger companiesServe more than 15% of total population250.5%
Medium-sized companiesServe between 4 and 15% of total population634.3%
Smaller companiesServe less than 4% of total population4515.2%

The three largest companies are

Together, the three companies serve 63% of urban water customers in Chile. [2]

Until 2011, the Chilean state held 36% of water and sanitation companies through its Production Development Corporation (CORFO). Today, this share has substantially decreased. As shown in the following table which shows the situation of 2006, the majority of the sector was still owned by Chilean actors. [2]

OrganizationPercentageCountry of Origin
CORFO35.7%Chile
Aguas de Barcelona17.0%Spain
Southern Cross Group10.7%Argentina
Grupo Hurtado Vicuña/Fernández León8.8%Chile
Grupo Luksic5.3%Chile
Grupo Solari5.0%Chile
Municipality of Maipú2.3%Chile
Iberdrola2.0%Spain
Others13.2%

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan from Canada is a major shareholder of the private water utilities Essbio and Esval. [26]

Rural areas

In rural areas, local water cooperatives and water committees provide water supply services. In concentrated rural areas (i.e. rural communities with 150 to 3,000 inhabitants with a concentration of not less than 15 houses per km of water network), there was a significant development due to the national program of Rural Potable Water (APR). However, most isolated housings in Chile still lack adequate water connections. [30]

Efficiency

Non-revenue water ("water losses") in Chilean water companies was on average 34% in 2006, an unusually high level for a sector that is so modern in so many other aspects. The level of non-revenue water is higher than in Germany, France or the United Kingdom (see, for example, water losses in Germany). Indeed, non-revenue water in Chile increased from 29% in 1999 to 34% in 2006. [2] The regulator considers a level of 15% efficient.

In 2006, on average one employee of the urban water supply and sanitation providers served 418 clients, [2] resulting in 2.4 employees per 1000 connections, below the Latin American average of 5.

Financial aspects

Annual investment in the Chilean urban water supply and sanitation sector. Source of data: SISS, Cariola/Alegria (2004) Investment in water supply and sanitation Chile.png
Annual investment in the Chilean urban water supply and sanitation sector. Source of data: SISS, Cariola/Alegria (2004)

Tariff level Water tariffs in Chile differ substantially between regions, reflecting differences in the cost of supplying water. Tariffs in urban areas varied between US$0.8 (Aguas Manquehue in Chicureo) per cubic meter and US$4.1 (Aguas Patagonia in Coyhaique) per cubic meter in 2006. [2] [31] In rural areas, tariffs only cover operation and maintenance costs [19]

Affordability On average, the water and sanitation bill accounted for 1.14% of household income according to a 1998 survey by the National Statistical Institute. They varied between 0.77% for the highest (wealthiest) quintile and 2.35% for the lowest (poorest) quintile. [13]

Financing and Subsidies Urban water and sanitation systems do not receive direct subsidies and are financed through the capital market, and ultimately through user fees. However, Chile has an innovative system of means-tested subsidies that allows qualifying poor households to receive a subsidy administered by the municipalities to pay parts of their water and sanitation bills. Rural water systems receive a partial investment subsidy that is defined in the Ley del Subsidio al Agua Potable y Saneamiento. [29] By law, the subsidy can cover 25-85 percent of a household's water and sewer bill up to 15 m³ per month. The client pays the rest of the bill. Beyond 15 m³, households are charged full price. The subsidy is meant to target only those households that are unable to buy water at a subsistence level and is based on willingness to pay. In 1998, about 13% of households benefited at a level of ~$10 per month. The total cost of the program in 1998 was US $36 million. Opponents argue this subsidy program can act as a regressive policy and actually hurt the poor because a false assumption is made that high consumption is positively correlated to high income. On the contrary, poor families do not have access to efficient methods of using water in cooking, cleaning, and washing.

Investment Since the sector was prepared for self-sufficiency, investment increased significantly from an annual average of about US$ 100m in the period 1965 to 1989 to an annual average of US$ 242m in the period 1990 to 1998, when the first company was privatized. [32] According to SISS, since 1998 the annual investment ranges between US$ 151m (1999) and US$ 443m (2002). [33] Total investment in 2006 was US$ 325m. [2]

External support

Interamerican Development Bank

The IDB supports the water and sanitation sector in Chile through two technical assistance grants:

World Bank

The World Bank supports the water and sanitation sector through a US$90m project approved in 2005, of which about 30% will be used for rural water supply and sanitation. The project is being executed by the Vice-Ministry of Regional Development in the Ministry of Interior. Investments are being undertaken in Coquimbo, Maule Region, Bio-Bio Region, Araucania Region, and Los Lagos Region.

Approved June 14, 2007, 20% of a US$30 million loan was appropriated and spent in the general water, sanitation, and flood protection sectors.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) (2010). "Water and Sanitation coverage data". WHO/UNICEF. Retrieved 2012-05-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Superintendencia de Servicios Sanitarios (SISS) (2007). "Informe de gestión del sector sanitario 2006" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-02-13. pgs. 28-96
  3. ↑ Alvarado, Ivan (2022). "'We beg God for water': Chilean lake turns to desert, sounding climate change alarm". Reuters . Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  4. ↑ NASA (2016). "A Strained Water System in Chile" . Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  5. ↑ Garreau, René D.; Boisier, Juan P. (2019). "The Central Chile Mega Drought (2010–2018): A climate dynamics perspective". International Journal of Climatology. 40 (1): 421–439. doi:10.1002/joc.6219. S2CID   198413538 . Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  6. ↑ Lozano Parra, Javier; Pulido Fernández, Manuel; Garrido Velarde, Jacinto (2021). "The Availability of Water in Chile: A Regional View from a Geographical Perspective". Resources of Water. intechopen. doi:10.1002/joc.6219. ISBN   978-1-83881-912-5. S2CID   198413538 . Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  7. ↑ "Chile announces unprecedented water rationing plan as drought enters 13th year". Reuters . 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  8. ↑ Palma, Isidora; Gómez-Lobo, Andrés; Contreras, Dante (2018). "Revisiting the distributional impacts of water subsidy policy in Chile: A historical analysis from 1998–2015". Water Policy. 20 (6): 1208–1226. doi: 10.2166/wp.2018.073 . S2CID   158194967.
  9. ↑ World Health Organization (2022). "Population using at least basic sanitation services" . Retrieved 2022-09-01.
  10. ↑ "WASHwatch.org - Chile". washwatch.org. Retrieved 2017-04-12.
  11. ↑ WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation
  12. ↑ Brown, Ernesto (2003). "Hacia Un Plan Nacional de Gestión Integrada de los Recursos Hídricos" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-02-13., p. 74
  13. 1 2 World Health Organization (WHO) (2000). "Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas - Chile - Situación de la prestación de los servicios" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  14. ↑ "Chile Water Use, Resources and Precipitation - Worldometer". www.worldometers.info. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
  15. ↑ Sjödin, Johanna (2006). "Determinants of the performance of public water services in Chile 1977-1999" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-02-13., p. 21
  16. ↑ Sjödin, Johanna (2006). "Determinants of the performance of public water services in Chile 1977-1999" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-02-13., p. 14
  17. ↑ Superintendencia de Servicios Sanitarios (SISS); please follow -> Historia del Sector -> Cobertura Histórica (2006). "Website: Cobertura Histórica" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-02-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ Sjödin, Johanna (2006). "Determinants of the performance of public water services in Chile 1977-1999" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-02-13., p. 17
  19. 1 2 3 World Health Organization (WHO) (2000). "Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas - Chile - Antecedentes" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  20. ↑ Sjödin, Johanna (2006). "Determinants of the performance of public water services in Chile 1977-1999" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-02-13., p. 25
  21. ↑ Sjödin, Johanna (2006). "Determinants of the performance of public water services in Chile 1977-1999" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-02-13., p. 31
  22. ↑ For example, private water concessions in Buenos Aires, Argentina, many other cities in Argentina, as well as in La Paz and Cochabamba, Bolivia, were terminated before their term expired
  23. ↑ Bitrán, Gabriel A.; Valenzuela, Eduardo P. (2003). "Water Services in Chile. Comparing Private and Public Performance" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-02-13., p. 4
  24. ↑ PPI database. "Country Snapshot Chile" . Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  25. ↑ "Chilean government sells water utility stock raises 984 million USD". 20 June 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  26. 1 2 "Auction of Essal shares in Chile suspended". Council of Canadians. 16 December 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  27. ↑ World Health Organization (WHO) (2000). "Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas - Chile - Estructura institucional del sector" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  28. ↑ Orphanópoulos, D. (2005). "Concepts of the Chilean Sanitation Legislation: Efficient Charges and Targeted Subsidies". International Journal of Water Resources Development. 21 (1): 199–216. doi:10.1080/0790062042000316893. S2CID   154509071.
  29. 1 2 World Health Organization (WHO) (2000). "Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas - Chile - Fortalezas y aspectos críticos del sector" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-02-13.
  30. 1 2 Cariola, E. C.; Alegria, M. A. (2004). "Análisis del proceso de privatización de los sistemas de agua potable y saneamiento urbanos en Chile" (PDF). Revista de Gestión de Agua de América Latina (in Spanish). 1 (2): 65–85. Retrieved 2008-02-10., p. 73-75
  31. ↑ 1 Chilean Peso = US$0.001880 (2006-12-31)
  32. ↑ Cariola, E. C.; Alegria, M. A. (2004). "Análisis del proceso de privatización de los sistemas de agua potable y saneamiento urbanos en Chile" (PDF). Revista de Gestión de Agua de América Latina (in Spanish). 1 (2): 65–85. Retrieved 2008-02-10., p. 77
  33. ↑ Superintendencia de Servicios Sanitarios (SISS); please follow -> Empresas Sanitarias -> Informe Annual Sector (2006). "Annual reports: 1999-2006" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-02-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water supply and sanitation in Latin America</span>

Water supply and sanitation in Latin America is characterized by insufficient access and in many cases by poor service quality, with detrimental impacts on public health. Water and sanitation services are provided by a vast array of mostly local service providers under an often fragmented policy and regulatory framework. Financing of water and sanitation remains a serious challenge.

Water supply and sanitation in Mexico is characterized by achievements and challenges. Among the achievements is a significant increase in access to piped water supply in urban areas as well as in rural areas between 1990 and 2010. Additionally, a strong nationwide increase in access to improved sanitation was observed in the same period. Other achievements include the existence of a functioning national system to finance water and sanitation infrastructure with a National Water Commission as its apex institution; and the existence of a few well-performing utilities such as Aguas y Drenaje de Monterrey.

Drinking water supply and sanitation in Ecuador is characterized by a number of achievements and challenges. One key achievement is a significant increase in both access to an at least basic water source and at least basic sanitation. Significant increases in coverage in urban areas were achieved both by the public utility EMAAP-Q, serving the capital Quito, and the private concessionaire Interagua in the country's largest city Guayaquil. However, municipalities rely overwhelmingly upon central government investment, rather than recouping the costs at a local level. Another problem is intermittent water supply, which affects half of the urban areas. Also, only 8% of all collected wastewater is being treated. The level of non-revenue water is estimated at 65%, one of the highest in Latin America. Addressing these challenges is complicated by the atomization of the sector: A multitude of stakeholders – the Ministry of Housing, the Emergency Social Investment Fund, the Solidarity Fund, the State Bank, NGOs, municipalities and others – intervene in the sector. Despite the existence of an Interinstitutional Committee for Water and Sanitation there remains room to improve coordination.

Water supply and sanitation in Colombia have been improved in many ways over the past decades. Between 1990 and 2010, access to improved sanitation increased from 67% to 82%, but access to improved water sources increased only slightly from 89% to 94%. In particular, coverage in rural areas lags behind. Furthermore, despite improvements, the quality of water and sanitation services remains inadequate. For example, only 73% of those receiving public services receive water of potable quality and in 2006 only 25% of the wastewater generated in the country underwent any kind of treatment.

Uruguay is the only country in Latin America that has achieved quasi-universal coverage of access to safe drinking water supply and adequate sanitation. Water service quality is considered good, with practically all localities in Uruguay receiving disinfected water on a continuous basis. 70% of wastewater collected by the national utility was treated. Given these achievements, the government's priority is to improve the efficiency of services and to expand access to sewerage, where appropriate, in areas where on-site sanitation is used.

Access to drinking water and sanitation in El Salvador has been increased significantly. A 2015 conducted study by the University of North Carolina called El Salvador the country that has achieved the greatest progress in the world in terms of increased access to water supply and sanitation and the reduction of inequity in access between urban and rural areas. However, water resources are heavily polluted and the great majority of wastewater is discharged without any treatment into the environment. Institutionally a single public institution is both de facto in charge of setting sector policy and of being the main service provider. Attempts at reforming and modernizing the sector through new laws have not borne fruit over the past 20 years.

Access to at least basic water increased from 94% to 97% between 2000 and 2015; an increase in access to at least basic sanitation from 73% to 86% in the same period;

Drinking water supply and sanitation coverage in Honduras has increased significantly in the last decades. However, the sector is still characterized by poor service quality and poor efficiency in many places. Coverage gaps still remain, particularly in rural areas.

Drinking water and sanitation in Nicaragua are provided by a national public utility in urban areas and water committees in rural areas. Despite relatively high levels of investment, access to drinking water in urban areas has barely kept up with population growth, access to urban sanitation has actually declined and service quality remains poor. However, a substantial increase in access to water supply and sanitation has been reached in rural areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water supply and sanitation in Argentina</span>

Drinking water supply and sanitation in Argentina is characterized by relatively low tariffs, mostly reasonable service quality, low levels of metering and high levels of consumption for those with access to services. At the same time, according to the WHO, 21% of the total population remains without access to house connections and 52% of the urban population do not have access to sewerage. The responsibility for operating and maintaining water and sanitation services rests with 19 provincial water and sewer companies, more than 100 municipalities and more than 950 cooperatives, the latter operating primarily in small towns. Among the largest water and sewer companies are Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos (AYSA) and Aguas Bonarenses S.A. (ABSA), both operating in Greater Buenos Aires, Aguas Provinciales de Santa Fe, and Aguas Cordobesas SA, all of them now publicly owned. In 2008 there were still a few private concessions, such as Aguas de Salta SA, which is majority-owned by Argentine investors, and Obras Sanitarias de Mendoza (OSM).

Bolivia's drinking water and sanitation coverage has greatly improved since 1990 due to a considerable increase in sectoral investment. However, the country continues to suffer from what happens to be the continent's lowest coverage levels and from low quality of services. Political and institutional instability have contributed to the weakening of the sector's institutions at the national and local levels. Two concessions to foreign private companies in two of the three largest cities—Cochabamba and La Paz/El Alto—were prematurely ended in 2000 and 2006 respectively. The country's second largest city, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, relatively successfully manages its own water and sanitation system by way of cooperatives. The government of Evo Morales intends to strengthen citizen participation within the sector. Increasing coverage requires a substantial increase of investment financing.

Water supply and sanitation in Venezuela is currently limited and many poor people remain without access to piped water. Service quality for those with access is mixed, with water often being supplied only on an intermittent basis and most wastewater not being treated. Non-revenue water is estimated to be high at 62%, compared to the regional average of 40%. The sector remains centralized despite a decentralization process initiated in the 1990s that has now been stalled. Within the executive, sector policies are determined by the Ministry of Environment. The national water company HIDROVEN serves about 80% of the population.

The water and sanitation sector in Peru has made important advances in the last two decades, including the increase of water coverage from 30% to 85% between 1980 and 2010. Sanitation coverage has also increased from 9% to 37% from 1985 to 2010 in rural areas. Advances have also been achieved concerning the disinfection of drinking water and in sewage treatment. Nevertheless, many challenges remain, such as:

Costa Rica has made significant progress in the past decade in expanding access to water supply and sanitation, but the sector faces key challenges in low sanitation connections, poor service quality, and low cost recovery.

Despite many years of concerted efforts and achievements in expanding coverage and improving service sustainability, many issues remain to be addressed in the water and sanitation sector. Key issues include: (i) a low level of coverage for both water and sanitation, in particular in rural areas; (ii) a low level of cost recovery, despite a legal obligation for tariffs to recover costs; and (iii) an institutional framework that is only partially effective.

The Dominican Republic has achieved impressive increases in access to water supply and sanitation over the past two decades. However, the quality of water supply and sanitation services remains poor, despite the country's high economic growth during the 1990s.

The drinking water supply and sanitation sector in Guatemala is characterized by low and inconsistent service coverage, especially in rural areas; unclear allocation of management responsibilities; and little or no regulation and monitoring of service provision.

Water supply and sanitation in Spain is characterized by universal access and good service quality, while tariffs are among the lowest in the EU. Almost half of the population is served by private or mixed private-public water companies, which operate under concession contracts with municipalities. The largest of the private water companies, with a market share of about 50% of the private concessions, is Aguas de Barcelona (Agbar). However, the large cities are all served by public companies except Barcelona and Valencia. The largest public company is Canal de Isabel II, which serves the metropolitan area of Madrid.

Water supply and sanitation in Panama is characterized by relatively high levels of access compared to other Latin American countries. However, challenges remain, especially in rural areas. Panama has a tropical climate and receives abundant rainfall, yet the country still suffers from limited water access and pollution. Intense El Niño periods, periodic droughts, reduce water availability. Multiple factors like urbanization, impacts of climate change, and economic development have decreased water resources. The high frequency of floods in recent years and the lack of corresponding measures resulted in tension among the local population. Rapid population growth in recent decades led to an unprecedented increase in freshwater demand. Regional inequality exists in water resources and water governance. An estimated 7.5-31% of Panama's population lives in isolated rural areas with minimal access to potable water and few sewage treatment facilities.

The privatization of water and sanitation services in Argentina between 1991 and 1999 under the government of Carlos Menem was part of one of the world's largest privatization programs. Water and sanitation concessions with the private sector were signed in 28% of the country's municipalities, covering 60% of the population.

References

Policy and regulation

Service providers

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.