In 2010, 99.9% of the population of Chile\u2019s urban areas had access to potable water and 95.9% had access to sanitation, according to SISS (Superintendencia de Servicios Sanitarios) the Chilean regulatory agency for urban areas. Nationally, 91.3% had water supply access and 82.5% had access to sanitation, according to the Casen Survey 2006.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a huge improvement since the 1970s when Chile began extending and developing its water and sanitation infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation in the late 1970s was a bit tricky,\u201d explains Gonzalo Cordua, General Manager of Nuevo Sur, the fourth largest water operator in Chile. \u201cWe rely on fruit and agriculture exports for a substantial part of our economy, yet some of these trees and vineyards were drinking water from rivers that did not necessarily pass through waste treatment plants. It would have been a matter of time before health concerns arose and alarms went off.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a result of the infrastructure development, water access increased from 78% in 1976 to 98% in 1988, and sanitation access increased from 52% in 1976 to 82% in 1988.<\/p>\n
In the 1990s, most utilities were partially handed over to the private sector. Investment in Chile\u2019s water and sanitation sector reached $5.7 billion during the 1993\u20132005 period, according to the World Bank\u2019s Private Participation in Infrastructure database.<\/p>\n
The outcry against privatization continues as some Chileans object to price increases and private control of the resource. For example, in 2009 the Spanish electricity company Endesa bought up 80% of the water rights in a big region in the south. In the north, agricultural producers compete with mining companies for scarce water supplies.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have come a long way, and even though 94% of Chilean water production is in private hands, we have made great environmental progress,\u201d says Magaly Espinosa, SSI Director. \u201cOur next steps will be to expand our rural water program and confront challenges in finding new groundwater sources and new water desalination investments, mainly in the dry northern areas of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n More than 80% of Chile\u2019s fresh water is used for irrigation, followed by industry (8%), mining (7%) and drinking (4%). Many of the water development projects now underway are to supply water to the country\u2019s mining sector.<\/p>\n![\"water1\"](\"http:\/\/www.doingbusinessin.fr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/water1.png\")
<\/a>As a result of public outcry over the sale of up to 65% of water utilities, in 2001 the government stopped selling utilities and started granting 30-year concession contracts instead via build-operatetransfer (BOT) agreements.<\/p>\n