(1997): Argentine Government Official Tells Congress that Aguas Argentinas Has Failed to Keep Its Promises

The head of ETOSS, the regulatory agency that oversees the management of Buenos Aires’ privatized water and sewer utility, tells Congress that Aguas Argentinas has only built a third of the new pumping stations and underground mains it promised to complete by 1997. Moreover, it has only spent 9.4 million of the promised 48.9 million in improving the sewage system. Citing the supposed need for “further investigation,” the company has put off construction of the Berazategui wastewater treatment plant. As a result, sewage is being dumped into rivers and cesspools, raising nitrate levels in the water (nitrates reduce the flow of oxygen to the brain in infants) and increasing the risk of various waterborne illnesses. According to the World Bank, by delaying the project, Aguas Argentinas is saving $100,000 dollars a day. [Inter Press Service, 4/13/1993]