Addressing the water crisis in Chile: citizen survey shows 81.3% agree with water rationing

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In the context of the water crisis and the implementation of public policies to address it, the mayors of the Association of Municipalities of Chile (AMUCH) and the Association of Rural Municipalities (AMUR) presented the survey “Citizen Perceptions on Addressing the Water Crisis,” in which 81.3% of respondents said they “strongly agree or agree” with the water rationing measure.

The survey was conducted in “municipalities with water scarcity decree” and also found that 64.2% said they were already “taking measures for sustainable water use in the household” and that 80.7% were “not aware of any measures taken by the state for sustainable water management.”

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According to the president of AMUCH and mayor of Zapallar, Gustavo Alessandri, these results “show the willingness to participate in the decisions that the government will eventually make on this matter.” “But also the possibility of campaigning and setting clear guidelines to collaborate with the community, since the expenditure per person is currently far above the recommendations of the OECD,” he added.

The option of water rationing is getting new momentum after President Gabriel Boric himself mentioned it in the first days of his term as a possible measure to combat the drought in the Metropolitan Region (MR), especially in the eastern zone, without setting a specific date.

Meanwhile, a ranking of the municipalities with the highest consumption of drinking water per inhabitant (in liters per day) was published yesterday, according to statistics from the Superintendencia de Servicios Sanitarios (Siss) for the end of 2021. The list is headed by Pirque (211.2 liters/day), Lo Barnechea (198.1), Puchuncaví (190.5), Colina (145.8) and Calera de Tango (143.5).

Various authorities have already spoken out on the issue; Claudio Orrego, governor of the RM, called the water crisis “the most important environmental problem” in the region and asserted that “we cannot rule out water rationing this year in Santiago.”

Thus, the mayors of AMUCH and AMUR called on the government to create an “inter-ministerial working group to jointly address the water crisis, which is becoming a social crisis,” which should convene the mayors to present “the citizens’ point of view” and determine how this eventual water rationing should be implemented.

“It is necessary to know how the water cuts will be implemented in advance. The mayors can contribute with suggestions and experiences since many of our municipalities have faced water shortages for more than ten years,” said Alessandri.

In this sense, the meeting between local authorities developed proposals based on each municipality’s experience with the drought. These include the implementation of a municipal water ordinance that should lead to efficient consumption and citizen campaigns in schools, businesses, and households.

Finally, Isabel Valenzuela, mayor of Colina and vice president of Amuch, stressed the importance of “copying the best practices of our municipalities,” to which end she proposes creating a database of municipal best practices, noting that it is not necessary to “reinvent the wheel.”