Chile’s senate on Thursday said it had passed a bill authorizing the use of seawater for desalination, in a bid to address water scarcity in the South American nation, the world’s top copper miner and home to the Atacama Desert, the world’s driest.
The bill began the legislative process in 2018 and must now be signed into law by recently inaugurated President Jose Antonio Kast, who signaled he was open to developing desalination facilities during his campaign.
The legislation looks to regulate the development of a national desalination strategy, setting up guidelines and priorities for the use of seawater.
The law establishes human consumption, domestic purposes, sanitation and the maintenance of ecological flows in aquifers as the priority, and adjusts rules for maritime concessions.
Under new rules, the installation of desalination plants must always comply with environmental assessments.
Over 20 desalination plants already operate in Chile, with a large portion of these used by the mining sector. Fifty-two more projects are in preliminary and construction stages.
(By Fabian Cambero; Editing by Iñigo Alexander)
