Water supply and sanitation in Argentina

Not to be confused with Water resources management in Argentina.
Water supply and sanitation in Argentina
Data
Water coverage (broad definition)97% (2010)[1]
Sanitation coverage (broad definition)90%[1]
Continuity of supplyMostly continuous[2]
Average urban water and sanitation tariff (US$/m3)0.48 (water) and 0.31 (sewerage) in 2000[3]
Share of household meteringLow[4]
Institutions
Decentralization to municipalitiesSubstantial, since 1980
Water and sanitation regulatorAt provincial level
Responsibility for policy settingMinistry of Public Works
No. of urban service providers1,650

Drinking water supply and sanitation in Argentina is characterized by relatively low tariffs, mostly reasonable service quality, low levels of metering and high levels of consumption for those with access to services. At the same time, according to the WHO, 21% of the total population remains without access to house connections and 52% of the urban population do not have access to sewerage. The responsibility for operating and maintaining water and sanitation services rests with 19 provincial water and sewer companies, more than 100 municipalities and more than 950 cooperatives, the latter operating primarily in small towns. Among the largest water and sewer companies are Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos (AYSA) and Aguas Bonarenses S.A. (ABSA), both operating in Greater Buenos Aires, Aguas Provinciales de Santa Fe, and Aguas Cordobesas SA, all of them now publicly owned. In 2008 there were still a few private concessions, such as Aguas de Salta SA, which is majority-owned by Argentine investors, and Obras Sanitarias de Mendoza (OSM).

Most service providers barely recover operation and maintenance costs and have no capacity to self-finance investments. While private operators were able to achieve higher levels of cost recovery, since the Argentine financial crisis in 2002 tariffs have been frozen and the self-financing capacity of utilities has disappeared. Roughly two-thirds of provincial water and sanitation spending since 2002 has come from general transfers from the federal government, the remainder coming from various national programs directed specifically to the sector.

Services are regulated by the 23 Provinces, in the case of 14 through regulatory agencies that have some limited autonomy from the government. Overall, however, responsibilities are not always clearly defined, and institutions are often weak, subject to political interference and lacking enforcement powers. The various national institutions with policy-setting responsibilities in the sector are not always well coordinated. There is no coherent national policy in terms of sector financing, subsidies, tariffs and service standards. The federal structure of the country and the dispersion of sector responsibilities between and within various levels of government make the development of a coherent sector policy all the more difficult.

Between 1991 and 1999, as part of one of the world's largest privatization programs covering a range of sectors, water and sanitation concessions with the private sector were signed covering 28% of the country's municipalities and 60% of the population.[5] The highest profile concession was signed in 1993 with a consortium led by the French firm Suez for the central parts of Greater Buenos Aires. After the 2001 economic crisis, many concessions were renegotiated. Many were terminated, as it was the case in Buenos Aires in 2006.[6]

The impact of private sector participation in water and sanitation is a controversial topic. While the public perception of the mostly international concessionaires is overwhelmingly negative in Argentina, some studies show positive impacts. For example, a 2002 study assessed the impact of privatization on child mortality based on household survey data, finding that child mortality fell 5 to 7 percent more in areas that privatized compared to those that remained under public or cooperative management.[7] The authors estimate that the main reason is the massive expansion of access to water. According to Suez, the private concession in Buenos Aires extended access to water to 2 million people and access to sanitation to 1 million people, despite a freeze in tariffs imposed by the government in 2001 in violation of the concession agreement. The government argues that the concessionaire did not fully comply with its obligations concerning expansion and quality, saying that the supplied water had high levels of nitrate, pressure obligations were not kept and scheduled works were not carried out.[8]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference JMP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Pan American Health Organization (PAHO); World Health Organization (WHO) (2000). "Evaluación de los Servicios de Agua Potable y Saneamiento 2000 en las Américas - Argentina - Informe Analítico" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 2008-02-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link), Situación de la prestación de los servicios de agua potable y saneamiento
  3. ^ World Bank/Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) (July 2005). "Infrastructure in Latin America: Recent evolution and key challenges. (Seven country briefs) -C.B. 1/7: Argentina" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-02-18., p. 65
  4. ^ World Bank/Interamerican Development Bank (IDB) (July 2005). "Infrastructure in Latin America: Recent evolution and key challenges. (Seven country briefs) -C.B. 1/7: Argentina" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-02-18., p. 64. Primary data are from a regional survey undertaken by PAHO/WHO in 2000.
  5. ^ Galiani, Sebastian; Gertler, Paul; Schargrodsky, Ernesto (2002-08-31). "Water for Life: The Impact of the Privatization of Water Services on Child Mortality". SSRN 648048. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help), p. 9
  6. ^ "Argentine government website on Public Services" (in Spanish). 2005. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
  7. ^ Galiani, Sebastian; Gertler, Paul; Schargrodsky, Ernesto (2002-08-31). "Water for Life: The Impact of the Privatization of Water Services on Child Mortality" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-02-14., p. 1
  8. ^ Solanes, Miguel (2006). "Efficiency, Equity, and Liberalisation of Water Services in Buenos Aires, Argentina". Industry, Services & Trade. 2006 (22). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): 124–148., p. 168