Chile pushes ahead with 'emergency' desal plant for drought-stricken region

Studies are being carried out to select a location for an emergency desalination plant for the drought-stricken Limarí river valley in Chile’s Coquimbo region in addition to a US$300mn plant planned for the same region that will be put out to tender later this year as a concession. 

“The emergency desal plant will be modular, and the aim is to have water available by 2026,” public works minister Jessica López said when asked by BNamericas during a press conference.

The desalination plant awarded under a concession is not expected to start producing water until 2028. 

While Coquimbo as a whole is one of the regions most affected by Chile’s decade-plus long drought, the Limarí river valley is in an especially critical situation with its three main reservoirs at less than a third of capacity at the end of July.

López added that the public works ministry (MOP) is already receiving quotes from companies for the equipment to be installed in the temporary plant.

WATER INSPECTIONS

The minister warned that, following the heavy rains in May and June, last month was the driest July in Santiago in 30 years, while precipitation early August did not cause significant changes to water levels in local reservoirs. 

In the meantime, MOP’s water division (DGA) is intensifying inspections, which resulted in record fines during the first half.

A total of 941 inspections were carried out in the first six months, with fines of 4.15bn pesos (US$4.39mn) handed down.

Fines imposed on water rights holders were mainly for failing to register water infrastructure works, not reporting water extraction, or not installing measurement systems. For non-rights holders, they were mostly for unauthorized water extraction or actions that modified water courses. 

López highlighted that a bill to streamline DGA’s inspection processes was approved on Monday by the senate’s water resources committee and will later be voted on by the full senate. 

Aside from fines, water rights holders who do not make use of the water have to pay a fee to preserve the rights. The payments reached 27.7bn pesos in H1.

López said that around 50% of water rights holders who do not use them are not paying the fees, which leaves their water rights subject to auctions. 

“We are searching for ways to accelerate those auctions to recover those rights on behalf of the State, to later use them for APRs [rural potable water systems] or as a reserve,” the official said.