Santa Fe creates water affairs ministry

The legislature of Argentina's Santa Fe province approved Monday the creation of a water affairs ministry, an official from the province's hydraulic works department told BNamericas. Alfredo Raparo will head the new ministry. The creation of the ministry - Ministerio de Asuntos Hidricos - reflects the sector's growing importance, in particular the need to tackle the province's flood problems, said the official. Water, sewerage and flood control works currently fall under the works, public services and housing ministry. Earlier this year, record rains flooded more than 2 million hectares of farmland in Santa Fe, wiping out 80% of the soy harvest. The official said the ministry will be helped by an agreement signed last month by former-governor Carlos Reutemann and the federal investment council (CFI), in which studies and projects in the province will be financed from the federal government's hydraulic infrastructure fund (Fondo de Infraestructura Hidrica), the flood protection loan (Prestamo Proteccion contra Inundaciones) and the emergency and rehabilitation of flooded areas program (Programa de Emergencia y Rehabilitación en Zonas Afectadas por Inundaciones). New provincial authorities took office December 10, with Jorge Obeid taking over as governor. Details of what the ministry's scope of duties and responsibilities will be should be ironed out in the coming weeks, such as if it will be responsible for pushing forward three aqueduct projects worth in total US$312mn and that would benefit some 100 municipalities.