Drinking water, “a luxury” for thousands of families in the Valparaíso region

When Carmen Gloria Guerra arrived 27 years ago to live in the Sacred Heart of Jesus Committee camp, in Villa La Cruz de Reñaca Alto, in the Chilean city of Viña del Marthe few houses that were in the neighborhood did not have the basic services as gas, water either electricity.

He had to use fire and candles and go down to the neighboring houses so he could fill buckets of water and carry them up the hill and take them to the camp or “great shot”irregular neighborhoods that in recent years have multiplied exponentially on empty land outside and inside cities in the face of the growing national housing problem.

According to different statistics, there are more than a thousand campsites or intakes with precarious access to water in Chile, a problem that the non-governmental organization WATERisLIFE (WIL) tries to remedy in places like Reñaca Alto with filters that help improve the quality of the liquid element.

The water now reaches the hill in cistern trucks delivered by the municipality, but although it is drinkable, there is a risk of contamination with microbacteria both during transport and during storage in the containers in the homes, which can cause diseases to those who consume it.

A very simple system: a bucket where the water is poured, passes through a hose and reaches a tube with different types of scientifically certified filters.

“The water comes out completely clean and the filter can last between 5 and 7 years if it is properly maintained”assured EFE on the ground María Paz Valdivia, executive coordinator of WATERisLIFE.

Thousands of people without access to water

According to the latest report from the renowned Chilean NGO “A roof for Chile”Viña del Mar, in the coastal region of Valparaíso, is the city with the most camps or takeovers in the country, a total of 99, of which a 94% have informal access to drinking water.

Only in the Sacred Heart of Jesus Committee camp, Villa la Cruz, in Reñaca Alto, it was founded in 1997 and currently there are approximately a thousand families, Emilia Venegas, social leader of the committee, tells EFE.

There, the cistern trucks arrive twice a week and distribute between 1,000 and 2,000 liters of water per household, although not all of it. “it’s good.”

“Sometimes the water comes with a bad smell, that’s why we boil the water before drinking it. Ideally, we should already have drinking water and normal sewage”explains Carmen Gloria Guerra.

In addition, in the rainy season, trucks have difficulty climbing the steep dirt roads that lead to the houses, causing families to have to dose the water and store it for a longer period of time to avoid running out of supplies.

“In winter the trucks cannot go up the roads and we have to keep the water in the container for a long time and it is exposed to dust, leaves, animal hair. The truth is that the water is polluted a lot”affirms to EFE Nelda Mancilla, a neighbor of the sector.

Luisa Díaz, president of the committee and a resident of the sector for twenty-five years, remembers when her family arrived in the neighborhood and became ill because of the water they consumed.

“We thought it was something natural, that something had made us sick, we had gastritis, and then we began to realize that it was the water because at that time it came out yellow”he pointed.

Significant savings

Faced with these difficulties, many residents began to contemplate the purchase of bottled water in drums, an option that for many families represents a great financial effort.

“We had the obligation to buy 25-liter drums, and it comes at a very high price, we spend around 17,000 pesos a week. With this we are going to save a lot and it will be very necessary for everyone” confirms Luisa Díaz about the filters delivered.

For Nelda Mancilla, the help from the NGO has meant savings and a significant change in her water consumption.

“The truth is that this filter is going to help us a lot, the confidence of being able to drink the water has already changed our lives. I did not dare to drink tap water. It is a very big change for the entire population”stands out.

The objective is to continue delivering this aid to the residents of Viña del Mar, prioritizing communities where more minors and the elderly live, as well as being able to reach communities in the north and south of the country, since unfortunately it is a more common problem than is thought. throughout Chile, concludes the coordinator of the non-governmental organization.

Source: EFE