The Municipality of Providencia, through its Local Development Directorate, initiated the third and final stage of the pioneering project that seeks to transform the management of water resources through the implementation of technology for the reuse of greywater.
The project “Water Crisis in Chile: How can we improve water management from local governments?” is financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Cities Hub, which allocated a fund of US$35,000 for the implementation of the pilot in the municipalities of Providencia and Renca.
Mauricio Brito, Director of HUB Providencia, emphasized the importance of scaling this model to the entire municipal infrastructure: “We want to replicate this initiative in all our schools, parks, plazas, and sports facilities. The message is clear: either we take care of the water, or we run out of it.”
During February 2026, the startup Remote Water installed two treatment systems in the bathrooms of an Arturo Alessandri High School:
-Women's bathroom (2nd floor): Water recovered from the sinks is redirected for toilet flushing.
-Men's bathroom (1st floor): The treated resource is entirely destined for the irrigation system of the premises.
The technological equipment stands out for being sustainable and chemical-free. The system collects greywater, pumps it to a treatment tank, and after a filtration process, it becomes available for reuse.
The pilot project will initially last one month. During this period, information will be collected to generate a database on the system's savings and efficiency, which will serve as the basis for future local public policies on water management.