Happy Nice Mall

So is Santiago, where I was returning from a tip-off trip in southern Chile two weeks ago. It’s autumn there. The days are cool and the leaves are changing colour.

Santiago governor Claudio Orrego said water demand is low at this time of year. But Santiago is in trouble. Temperatures will rise by November, and the city could face famine if there is little snow and rain in the coming months.

“Over the 481 years of Santiago’s existence as a city, we didn’t even consider the possibility of scarcity of water for human consumption,” Orrego said in an interview last week. “It was never on the table.”

Santiago is in its 13th year of drought. The two rivers that carry water to the city, the Maipo and Mapocho, hold 65 percent of the water that should be at this time of year. Glaciers have decreased significantly. Orrego had seen this himself on his recent hikes in the mountains surrounding Santiago. He said the city’s water shortages were not temporary.

“I think it will be permanent,” he said. “What will we do when we run out of water? How do we conserve what little water we have?”

As an emergency measure, Santiago introduced a four-stage warning system that goes from green to red according to the water levels of the rivers. Water utilities will be able to restrict water pressure and then shut off water for up to 24 hours in different parts of the city. The governor soon has to make some tough political decisions. Agriculture and industry account for the majority of water use in and around the city, and forcing them to cut back can be difficult.

In the long run, he said, Santiago will need to change the way it uses water. It reuses only part of the wastewater. The tariff system does not encourage people to reduce their water consumption. “People wash their cars with open hoses,” the governor said.