The last major expansion of the water system was constructed in 1976. Because farmers buy and rent their water, their water efficiency has improved. With the same amount of water, Chilean farmers irrigate 22 percent more land than before. The country has made a huge shift from traditional crops to export crops. Chile is now one of the world's largest exporters of fruit.
Chile is a country with extreme poverty, and many of the poor previously had no access to water.
The most important item in the reforms is that, by law, the government must provide water subsidies to the poorest, smallest farmers and rural citizens who lack access to water. Now that everyone else is paying what water really costs, there is money left over to pay for this. We have also been able to initiate health, nutrition, and education programs. Our water system is now far more equitable than it was before. Far more people have potable water than before.