Alexei Barrionuevo: Chilean Town Withers in Free Market for Water

Describing the water woes in one of the dryest places on earth, the New York Times writer recounted the results of unbridled capitalism in allocating water resources. The place, Quillague, Chile, had a river. The electric company of Spain, Endesa, has purchased approximately 80 percent of the water rights in the south and agricultural and mining interests have bought in the north. These business interests "siphon off rivers and tap scarce water supplies, leaving towns like this one bone dry and withering" (p. 8). The residents of Quillague and governmental officials argue over the source of pollution of the river, nature or people, natural phenomena or copper mines.

Consequences of these actions include a migration of population from the area (about four-fifths have left), an absence of environmental oversight, equity inequalities--rich and powerful interests relegate smaller and less powerful groups to a future without water, and economic speculation of a natural resource. The country faces a dilemma, a country with vast natural resources and a lack of water to exploit the resources--"concerns about shortages plague Chile's economic expansion through natural resources like copper, fruits and fish--all of which require loads of water in a country with limited supplies of it" (p. 8).

The author found analogies between Chile and Australia and the western United States. Like the United States, Chile suffers from over-appropriated rivers. However, a strong environmental faction and environmental regulation are absent in Chile.

The government suspected that one mining company, Soquimich, extracted water from the Loa River, which feeds the Quillagua, in excess of its right. The Chilean water agency started an investigation, using satellite monitoring of the river. "After recording no water at all in the summer of 2007, Quillagua suddenly received small amounts last year, and again this January" (p. 8). Although the quantity does not change the lives of the people in the region, it provided a scientific and objective monitoring of the country's water resources.

Barrionuevo, A. (2009). Chilean Town Withers in Free Market for Water. New York: The New York Times, p. 8.