Despite the rains recorded in recent days in the central zone of the country, the general manager of Aguas Andinas, Marta Colet, made a call to continue with the responsible and conscious use of water in the midst of the deep water scarcity that the central zone is experiencing. and south of the country.
Although the accumulated rainfall could bring a false sense of relief, in the last hours only 25 millimeters of rain and 19 cm of snow fell in the El Yeso Reservoir, which only meant an increase of 0.19% in its volume (from 147.4 hm3 to 147.6 hm3). In 2021, in the Metropolitan Region, 114 millimeters fell, while in 2020 and 2019, the figure was 188 mm and 82 mm*, respectively, which is why the general manager of the main water utility in the country called for present the prolonged effects of climate change and emphasized the importance of remembering that, according to various studies on the matter, these will continue over time.
In this sense, he explained that the situation continues to be critical in terms of water, especially in the central area where the main rivers that supply the city have also registered historical lows in March this year, up to 0.92 m3/s in the case del Mapocho and 33 m3/s in Maipo, which led to the implementation of anticipated work that was reflected in the Scheduled Restrictions Plan announced a few weeks ago.
“We know that Santiago needs more and more health infrastructure to address the great challenges of the climate emergency. For this reason, at Aguas Andinas we continue to deploy our investment and works plan and search for new alternative sources that allow us to ensure a safe and reliable supply. However, we remain in a critical scenario in terms of water. That is why the effort and commitment of all the actors will be fundamental, since public-private work and joint efforts with citizens are the only way to face and overcome this situation”, said Marta Colet.
Additionally, he added that there are real and concrete solutions in Santiago to address water scarcity. “We work in one of them. This is the collaborative project for the reuse of wastewater purified in our biofactories as a new source of supply for the almost 8 million people from Santiago that we supply. This, which must be approved by the authority, will allow us to generate a virtuous circle since we will be able to have more raw water in the river to supply the city and then use it for agricultural irrigation and aquifer recharge. In simple words, give more than one use or a double life to water”.
It should be noted that the company has a plan of nearly US$ 300 million in solutions to face climate change, of which several are in execution. Among them are the 14 new wells in La Pintana that will produce 1.5 m3/sec of drinking water that will soon come into operation, the expansion of the Padre Hurtado Plant and the Bicentennial Pond, which we will inaugurate this year. In addition, for the future we are studying the project for the reuse of treated wastewater in our biofactories, which will be elevated for more than 40 km to the Maipo River for agro-industrial use and thus we will be able to have an equivalent amount of water in the river to produce drinking water. It will be a great adaptation leap, there will be 3 m3/s of available water that will leave us with a robust water production and distribution system.
