Santiago launches new river basin agency and unveils US$1.6bn project portfolio

A new organization to promote water conservation in the Maipo river basin, the main water source for Chilean capital Santiago and its surrounding municipalities, will push a project portfolio containing 34 initiatives involving investments estimated at 1.49 trillion pesos (US$1.6 billion).

So far three projects involving 1.12bn pesos have reached the pilot stage through funding from the Metropolitan regional government, which set up the new river basin organization OdCM alongside Fundación Chile, with contributions from the public and private sectors.

“There are 50 organizations in this. There isn't any other place in Chile where mining companies, environmental activists, canal operators, businesses, municipalities, academia, ministries and the Santiago government sit at the same table to discuss a common cause,” Metropolitan region governor Claudio Orrego said during the launch of the “Maipo Resiliente” program.

The full project portfolio, which includes works on infrastructure, irrigation, wastewater reuse, water efficiency and conservation, can be seen here, in Spanish.

Fully implementing the 34 projects outlined would help the Metropolitan region save up to 560Mm³/y of water (million cubic meters per year), which equates to 2.5 times the full capacity of the region’s main reservoir, El Yeso.

The head of Fundación Chile, Pablo Zamora, said that talks are underway with other regional governments to implement similar initiatives, and that diagnostic works are ongoing in Magallanes region of southern Chile.

“I believe that the Metropolitan government’s decision to take a chance with this sets out a route for the other regional actors,” he said in response to a question from BNamericas at the event. 

Although many of Chile's water reservoirs, including those serving Santiago, currently contain more water than they did a year ago, authorities have emphasized that the drought that has affected much of the country for over a decade is far from over and that water conservation efforts must continue.