Pumanque, Paredones, Lolol, Pichilemu, Navidad, La Estrella, Litueche, Marchigüe are just some communes in the O’Higgins region that have been surviving the onslaught of drought with greater vigor for more than a decade. Some of these inhabited coastal dryland communities are located in remote areas, geographically dispersed, difficult to access and/or with homes in high altitude areas, which makes access to a sanitary network for water distribution almost impossible. They only access the vital resource for human consumption through cistern trucks.
According to the regional councilor for Cardenal Caro, Tamara Monroy, a couple of municipalities (Navidad and Lolol) contacted her a while ago to request her help in the face of a complex situation they are facing. Today they do not have the service of leasing tank trucks by the Presidential Delegation for the distribution of drinking water for human consumption for emergencies, because the region does not have the renewed decree of Water Scarcity by the Directorate. General of Water (DGA) of the MOP. It should be noted that so that the municipalities can access this service in the delegation, there is a manual of procedures to provide support for the concept of emergency due to water deficit, and where it is requested as a requirement that the region have a water shortage decree. to manage the rental of this type of trucks.
The presidential delegation, through the Ministry of the Interior, “has the power to lease the tanker truck service and provide it to the municipalities that need it. However, all of this is subject to the Water Shortage decree, with the Comptroller’s Office being the institution that makes the decision,” he indicated, showing decree 168 dated September 2023, which was issued by said institution. This does not justify the issuance of a decree (in Rancagua, Machalí, Graneros, Codegua, Doñihue, Olivar, Las Cabras, Mostazal, Malloa, Quinta de Tilcoco, Rengo, Paredones, Pumanque and Requínoa) according to the DGA technical report on the latest hydro meteorological conditions for 2023, because “there is no evidence that severe drought conditions are verified that justify such a declaration.”
LACK OF HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE DRYLAND
He insists that, although the latest DGA reports say that more water fell in this area during 2023, “it does not mean or guarantee that people will have access to it. The backward communes, such as those in the dry coastal region, do not have the necessary infrastructure for its distribution. We have more than 200 Rural Health Services (SSR-ex APR) in the region of which only 29 correspond to the province of Cardenal Caro.” In fact, these health services do not reach all inhabited areas due to various factors, such as being at a higher altitude.
He adds that there are still health infrastructure problems in the area. “During this year we have seen progress in Cardenal Caro (lag area), in the Christmas commune, Pupuya sector and others nearby, where a mega drinking water project is being carried out. However, we have entire towns where it is still not possible for us to reach drinking water, either because there is difficulty in access, there are settlements that are at height, or places that are located very far from the collection sources, generating that the only possibility of have access to drinking water through cistern trucks. Even these, on frequent occasions, must navigate routes along rural roads that are not yet paved,” describes the provincial representative of the Regional Government.
WATER RESOURCES COMMISSION
This week the regional representative went to the Water Resources Commission of the Chamber of Deputies to explain this entire situation that is shaking the resources of each municipality, including those most affected by the dry coastal drought. “Unfortunately, the Interior in its circular No. 2/2023 uses the shortage decrees as a tool to process the leasing of trucks, generating the aforementioned problem,” Tamara Monroy explained this Tuesday in front of the parliamentarians who make up said commission. “We need the regulations to be changed or made more flexible. Although the municipalities must be responsible for this water provision, we have communes where the territorial dispersion is very large and there are not enough resources to rent trucks. What’s more, they must derive money from the municipal coffer destined for other services to attend to this first need,” said the counselor, also claiming that in this summer and drought period, there are not enough trucks to distribute water and saying that Firefighters are focused on addressing emergencies derived from forest fires.
It is also worth mentioning that the Regional Government has come to the aid of providing resources so that the municipalities can have cistern trucks, specifying the delivery of 11 of these mobiles a few months ago to the communes of Colchagua and Cardenal Caro, for an amount greater than the 1.3 billion pesos from the National Regional Development Fund (FNDR).
Finally, he describes that they have “knocked on doors, spoken with the Regional Governor, spoken with Senator Alejandra Sepúlveda, Representative Félix Bugueño and Representative Marta González. The latter invited me to the Water Resources Commission of the lower house to present the issue. However, we remain administrative when today people need water now.”
WATER FOR LIVESTOCK
Another problem is the shortage of water for animals. According to the statements of Councilor Monroy, she stated the case of the Christmas commune where efforts are directed towards the need for human consumption, but “no one is attending to the water consumption for livestock animals. Today there are more than 10 thousand heads of cattle in this area that are very complicated and this is what they assure us from this municipality.” Emergency agriculture only considers fodder for animals – she continued – and not water, “so it is at the discretion of the municipalities that are prioritizing human consumption.”
COMPLICATED APRs
Monroy stated that according to the information that was given to him from the same presidential delegation, in various SSRs that have drinking water production problems, the cistern truck service continues, whether in Machalí (SSR Cajón El Guindal), Marchigue (SSR Rinconada de Alcones), Litueche (SSR Quelentaro) and the SSR La Estrella. “All of them have minutes from the Directorate of Hydraulic Works (DOH) that certifies the lack of production in these services. And in turn, in Pumanque and Rancagua home delivery would be maintained,” according to the information provided by the authority itself.
