Interconnected water scarcities and environmental amenities migration in rural Chile

Abstract

This paper explores the repercussions of amenity migration on rural communities' access to water through a comparative analysis of three case studies in Chile. It examines the concept of rural drinking waterscapes to elucidate how access to water is dependent upon a metabolic process, wherein social, political, economic, and technical elements contribute to the construction of rural landscapes. This notion implies paying close attention to the daily practices of water access at the household level through ethnographic methods (multiplying interviews and observations), thus uncovering unregulated water habits and uses. The results underscore the pivotal role played by the State in shaping the desirability of these localities, attracting both capital and upper-class population influx. This socio-demographic shift triggers significant changes in land-use patterns, resulting in an amplified and diversified demand for water. The study identifies that water scarcity is a multifaceted issue, stemming from the intricate interplay of various scarcities occurring simultaneously across different scales. These include: 1) infrastructure scarcity, arising from households' inability to connect to the communal water network; 2) service management scarcity, induced by operational failures that reduce water pressure or increase supply interruptions; 3) economic scarcity, resulting from water organisation budget constraints or residents’ inability to meet water bills; and 4) overexploitation scarcity, emanating from the excessive consumption of groundwater resources. Notably, these different forms of scarcity are interconnected. The responses of local populations and governing committees are identified as central to this intricate chain of causation, as they can inadvertently create new scarcity scenarios and exacerbate inequalities.