translated from Spanish: Mapocho River basin is asked to declare water shortage zone

Last Thursday Aguas Cordillera asked the Intendencia of the Metropolitan Region to declare a water shortage area in the Mapocho River basin, due to the drought that its channel experiences. According to Radio Cooperativa, the company of Grupo Aguas requested that the measure be applied in the first section of the river, comprising the communes of Las Condes, Vitacuray Lo Barnechea, to expand its sources of capture. A few weeks ago, Aguas Andinas requested the same measure with the Surveillance Board of the First Section of the Maipo River, which received the green light from the Directorate General of Aguas.Alberto Blanco, director Sustainable Planning of the Aguas Group, detailed that “can it will be necessary this summer to capture a little more of the flows that we usually capture”, in order to prioritize human consumption. In addition, the reuse of treated sewage is planned in the long term as part of the drought plan. However, they clarified that supply in Santiago is insured. For his part, the Minister of Public Works, Alfredo Moreno, recognized that the flows of the Maipo and Mapocho rivers are the most important sources of water that the capital has, and that the decline of its flows has been accentuated this year. However, he assured that “Santiago has the resources to be able to face that, has reservoirs, has wells, and other places more than those that today provide the Maipo. We have to make every effort to take care of the water. But the water supply of Santiago is assured”, according to Cooperativa.From the commune of Lo Barnechea, one of the most consumed water by the extension of its green waters, Mayor Felipe Guevara explained that work is done in the automation of irrigation, the installation of a pasture that needs less consumption and the planting of American oaks, which require less water.

Original source in Spanish