While Chile proudly celebrates its economic growth driven by water-intensive industries, the country’s taps are running dry at an alarming rate. The numbers don’t lie – Central Chile has endured over two decades of uninterrupted drought, causing a steady decline in freshwater sources. Water availability has dropped a whopping 37% in the last three decades. By 2060, northern and central regions could lose half their water. Not great timing.
The Metropolitan Region faces a structural water deficit of up to 250 cubic hectometers under dry conditions. That’s a fancy way of saying they’re in deep trouble. Supply of drinking water is only guaranteed until March 2026. After that? Well, nobody’s quite sure.
When officials say “structural water deficit,” they really mean Santiago’s taps might stop working after 2026.
Meanwhile, the thirstiest sectors of the economy keep guzzling away. Mining expects to increase water demand by 45%. Agriculture needs an additional 4 cubic kilometers over the next 40 years. Forestry and fish farming aren’t helping either. Everyone wants their share of the disappearing resource. Classic.
Water companies aren’t sitting idle, at least on paper. They’re planning over $400 million in investments for 2024, with 60% going to drinking water infrastructure. Between 2010 and 2020, they poured $1,680 million into climate change mitigation. New wells in Santiago now provide an extra 1,500 liters per second. That’s something, right?
Desalination plants have become the shiny new solution, with facilities proposed for Antofagasta, Tocopilla, and Copiapó. The mining industry already operates 11 plants exclusively for their operations. The catch? Water rates might double for regular consumers. Shocking. Like the Colorado River basin states, Chile faces the challenge of water use consistently exceeding available supply, creating a long-term sustainability crisis that threatens both urban and rural communities.
The current costs aren’t cheap either – $1.27 per cubic meter for drinking water, $0.95 for wastewater treatment, and $0.11 for storm water management. Public-private partnerships are being touted as the key strategy for managing these rising costs. Chile ranks as the 10th most water-risk-prone country globally, highlighting the severity of the nation’s water challenges.
While everyone scrambles for solutions, the drought marches on. The 2025 rainfall deficit occurred nationwide, following a 2024 marked by extreme weather. Water-intensive sectors continue driving economic growth while the resource itself quietly disappears. Ironic, isn’t it? Informative campaigns have been launched to promote water conservation awareness among citizens struggling with this growing crisis.
References
- https://www.alliance4water.org/wr4er-cases/water-resilience-for-santiago-de-chile
- https://www.trade.gov/market-intelligence/chile-2024-2026-water-investment
- https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/minister-lopez-the-supply-of-drinking-water-for-human-consumption-is-guaranteed-until-march-2026
- https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2024/03/oecd-environmental-performance-reviews-chile-2024_ce98cfc1.html
- https://www.thewatermba.com/p/acades-desalination-and-the-future
- https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/chile-environmental-technologies
- https://www.gbreports.com/contents/climate-change-adaptation/
- https://www.econthatmatters.com/2025/12/governing-environmental-markets-lessons-from-chiles-experiment-on-water-markets/
