Members of Chile’s lower chamber of congress are discussing a bill to grant concessions for rural potable water and sanitation services, which was scheduled for submission in the second week of November 2009, an official from the house’s public works committee said.

The senate approved the bill unanimously in October 2009 and it has been classified as “extremely urgent” due to its importance for the sector, the official added.

The new law considers the creation of a national rural sanitation department that will operate within the waterworks division of the public works ministry (MOP). The new authority will award the operation and maintenance of rural sanitation services to existing cooperatives, to newly created ones and also to sanitation companies.

The new department will work with regional governments to expand services; create a registry of and classify rural water operators; and supervise these entities to guarantee services.

In 1964 only 6% of Chile’s rural population had access to potable water. Today, coverage is at 98%, serving a population of over 1.5mn inhabitants. The quality of these services, however, differs among communities.

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• Peru, Apurímac: Ministry launches pilot potable water plan for conflict areas, Source Weekly, 21 Sep 2009
• Nicaragua: environmental committee debating water decentralisation, Source Weekly, 08 Jun 2009
• Dominican Republic, Mexico: decentralisation of water services and water resources management, Source Weekly, 03 Apr 2009

Related web site: Chile - Dirección General de Aguas

Source: Eva Medalla, BNamericas.com [subscription site], 04 Nov 2009

Tags: governance, latin america & caribbean, policies & legislation, sanitation, water supply