Water supply and sanitation in Peru
| Data | |
|---|---|
| Access to an improved water source | 85% |
| Access to improved sanitation | 71% |
| Share of collected wastewater treated | 22% (2004) |
| Continuity of supply | 71% |
| Average urban water use (L/person/day) | 259 |
| Average urban water and sanitation tariff (US$/m3) | 0.38 |
| Share of household metering | 50% |
| Annual investment in WSS | US$6/capita |
| Share of self-financing by utilities | very low |
| Share of tax-financing | n/a |
| Share of external financing | n/a |
| Institutions | |
| Decentralization to municipalities | Full, since 1990 |
| National water and sanitation company | None |
| Water and sanitation regulator | Yes |
| Responsibility for policy setting | Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation |
| Sector law | Yes (1994 and amended subsequently) |
| No. of urban service providers | 50 companies and 490 municipalities |
| No. of rural service providers | 11,800 |
The water and sanitation sector in Peru has made important advances in the last two decades, including the increase of water coverage from 30% to 85% between 1980 and 2010. Sanitation coverage has also increased from 9% to 37% from 1985 to 2010 in rural areas. Advances have also been achieved concerning the disinfection of drinking water and in sewage treatment. Nevertheless, many challenges remain, such as:
- Insufficient service coverage;
- Poor service quality which puts the population's health at risk;
- Deficient sustainability of built systems;
- Tariffs that do not cover the investment and operational costs, as well as the maintenance of services;
- Institutional and financial weakness; and,
- Excess of human resources, poorly qualified, and high staff turnover.