President Piñera signs bill to create the Public Works and Water Resources Ministry: “We need to raise awareness about the vital importance of taking care of water”

The President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, signed the Bill that establishes the Public Works and Water Resources Ministry on Thursday.

The measure seeks to strengthen the institutional structure so as to promote access to water. 

“We cannot allow water scarcity to hinder the normal development of human life and of our country,” said the President during a ceremony at La Moneda Palace. He was accompanied by Public Works Minister Alfredo Moreno, Environment Minister Carolina Schmidt and Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation Minister Andrés Couve.

“We need to raise awareness about the vital importance of taking care of water,” he added.

The past 30 years have seen a decline in Chile’s water courses and rainfall has decreased by between 15% and 25%. Meanwhile the central part of Chile is going through the driest decade since records began. Rainfall in Santiago has decreased from an annual average of 342 millimeters between 1981 and 2010 to an annual average of 199 millimeters between 2010 and 2020, which implies a 42% reduction.

On October 9, 2019, the President established the National Water Round Table, a public-private entity made up of representatives from civil society, trade associations, Congress and the government with the objective of seeking solutions for the medium and long term.

Among the proposals made by this Round Table was that new institution should be set up to deal with water in the form of the new Public Works and Water Resources Ministry and the Water Resource Undersecretary’s Office.

“We have gone through 12 years of drought in Chile; the worst drought since records began. By dint of many measures and a great deal of hard work, we have managed to avoid rationing either water or electricity, but nonetheless we are going through a very complex period,” said President Piñera.

“The institutional structure for overseeing matters relating to water is diffuse. It’s an area that is spread among many ministries and so duplication, a lack of coordination and some overlapping of efforts occurs. So we must enhance the institutional structure in order to address this challenge,” he explained. 

The Water Resource Undersecretary has been charged with setting up an institution to guide the State’s long-term water policy, which is stable and enjoys cross-sector support.

In addition to the undersecretary, the new institutional structure will comprise the National Water Resource Council to advise the President; the Ministerial Committee on Water Resources, an interministerial committee for coordination on water matters; a Technical Water Resource Committee, that will coordinate water governance at national level; and the Water Resource Panel of Experts that will issue technical recommendations in advance of decisions made by the General Directorate of Water. 

“The institutional structure that we are proposing to Congress today, with the new Public Works and Water Resources Ministry, includes forums for participation by civil society, forums in which ministers will participate, and forums for making decisions so that we can meet this challenge, prevent the desert from advancing further and water becoming even more scarce,” concluded the President.

Since he took office, President Piñera has led a range of different actions related to water, such as the reform of the Water Code; entry into force of the New Law regarding Rural Sanitation Services in November 2020; an APR investment plan worth US$342 million in 2021, and declaring 100 aquifers as areas where water rights cannot be granted.