UNITED NATIONS
STATISTICS DIVISION
UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT
PROGRAMME
UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC
COMMISSION FOR EUROPE
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC
CO-OPERATION & DEVELOPMENT
STATISTICAL OFFICE OF THE
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
UNITED NATIOS FOOF &
AGRICULTURE ORGANISATION
Intersecretariat Working Group on Environment Statistics
Work Session on Water Statistics
(Vienna, 20-22 June 2005)
Chile. Water Statistics 2005. Essential topics, problems and
solutions
Work Session on Water Statistics
(Vienna, 20-22 June 2005)
Dharmo Rojas D.
THE STATISTIC
Are of long dates, except those in which the new requests and the natural
technical evolution they have permitted to generate new information, as
for example, water processing served and liquid industrial residues.
This information is generated in diverse agencies of the State.
In this succinct report, a general indication of the theme is done, that in
no case is exhaustive.
Drinking Water
Private enterprises are the responsible for their production ,
processing, distribution, measurement of the bacteriological,
chemical, and physical quality.
The Control
All the procedure is controlled for the Superintendence of
Sanitary Services (SISS).
Rivers, reservoirs and dams
General Direction of Water.
Irrigation channels.
Direction irrigation.
Lakes and coastal edge.
Direction of the Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine.
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS
The National Institute of Statistics (INE), is the agency
responsible for the official statistics of the country.
Recompile and prepares this information for the purpose
of diffusing it officially.
Dissemination through its publication specialized “Yearbook of
Statistics of the Environment”. The last version of the
yearbook corresponds al period 1999 – 2003. The first version
dates from 1986 and covers the period 1981 – 1985.
ESSENTIAL TOPICS OF THE STATISTICAL
INFORMATION

Urban drinking water
Superficial & Subterranean collecting
Supply, production, consumption
Quality of the drinking water
Discharges (Emissions)
Treatment of waters

Rural drinking water

Courses of water

Reservoirs and dams

Lakes and lagoons

Coastal edge

Uses of the water

Hidrography & networks measurement, reports,
consultations answered, documents entered, basic
studies and technical documents
PLAN OF THE MAIN VARIABLES MEASURES

Urban drinking water
Production and consume
Production (superficial and subterranean collecting)
Consume (Turnover)
Population attended with drinking water and sewer system
Covers of drinking water and sewer system.
Quality of the water
Quality of drinking water: percentage of fulfillment of the
bacteriological quality, disinfections, chemical and physical
parameters.
Discharges
They served water discharges volume to the superficial
courses
Served water discharges volume to sewer systems
Volume of liquid industrial residues discharged by the
sanitary companies and industries by region
Total volume of residual water generated
Number of industries and the types of associated
discharges (sewer system, superficial courses, infiltration,
irrigation)
Treatment
Number and domestic residual water processing plants
capacity (water served) by region
Covers of served water treatment
PLAN OF THE MAIN VARIABLES MEASURES
(Cont.)

Rural drinking water
Supply
Quality of the rural drinking water

Courses of water
Discharges of water served
Discharges of liquid industrial residues
Measurement of the quality of the water

Reservoirs and dams
Monthly volume stored

Lakes and lagoons
Measurement of the quality of the water in some
lakes

Coastal edge
Measurement of the quality of water in the main bays
PLAN OF THE MAIN VARIABLES MEASURES
(Cont.)

Uses of the water
Uses destined to drinking water, industry, mining
industry and irrigation
Number of users (last land registry 1994)
Availability of water per capita by regions
Quantity of inlets by hydrographic basin
Quantity of channels
Surface Watered

Hydrography

Networks of measurement
Measurement stations quantity hidrometeorological
Quantity of hydrologic satellite stations in real time

Statistical and consultations
Quantity of technical reports developed by the
General Direction of Water (DGA), Quantity of:
requests, consultations answered, documents
entered, basic studies and technical documents
developed by the DGA.
Statistical of flows
INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS, GENERATION
AND COLLECTION OF DATA

The information is generated in diverse agencies of the
State, in the case of the drinking water, private enterprises
are the responsible for their production, processing and
distribution.

The agencies involved in the different aspects of the water
they are consulted periodically by the INE for the purpose of
developing the Yearbook of Environmental Statistics. and
also for give response to national and international
consultation on environmental statistics.
GENERATION OF
INFORMATION
DRINKING
WATER
SISS
LAKES and
COASTAL EDGE
DIRECTEMAR
RIVERS,
RESERVOIRS, DAMS,
CHANNELS
DGA
PRIVATE
ENTERPRISES
COLLECTION OF INFORMATION
INE
DIR. RIEGO
PROBLEMS FACED WHEN COMPLETING THE
QUESTIONNAIRES

As problems of easily surmountable:
The dispersion of the sources of information, the diverse
methodologies of generation of the data, as also the analysis
and evaluation of the same, the different units of measures,
the different periodicities of harvesting and different
geographical covers.

A problem of greater importance:
To know the processing of the national information, in some
cases, according to the national norms and in other,
according to the international norms.

The specific problems arise of the diversity of variables
consulted, the breakdown of the information, that in some
cases, is not coincident with the national breakdown.
Also problems due to the differences between the definitions
of the questionnaire arise and those utilized in the country.
PROBLEMS FACED WHEN COMPLETING THE
QUESTIONNAIRES

In the administrative aspect
The lack of personnel, (is that of greater weight),
the time that demands the elaboration of the answers for
the questionnaire, as also the not opportune reception of
the data.

An underlying problem, but not less important
The lack of statistical culture, especially referred al care of
the information, its quality control and opportunity on the
part of the generators of information.
SPECIFIC PROBLEMS FROM VARIABLES OF
QUESTIONNAIRES PNUD
(1)
Wastewater Generation
Partial data or do not exist on:
•
•
•
•
Mines and quarries
Production and distribution of electricity
Construction
Other economic activities
Discharges and Pollution of effluents
•
•
•
The points of discharges are known
They lack data of the total volume of residual water generated
Pollution. Measures only in main bodies of water. They lack
points of sampling.
SPECIFIC PROBLEMS FROM VARIABLES OF
QUESTIONNAIRES PNUD
(2)
Wastewater treatment
The information refers to a preliminary processing and to
secondary and primary processing but itself is not found
itemized on:
Degrees Processing
•
•
•
Biological
Of tip Processing
Treated water in other plants of processing
Treatment capacities
The processing plants number is known well, the design of
capacity, volume and discharged treatment water to the
courses of water too.
SPECIFIC PROBLEMS FROM VARIABLES OF
QUESTIONNAIRES PNUD
(3)
Muds
resultant
remove
The data they don’t specify
matters of the
the volume of
preliminary processing (to
sands and greases) of the resultant volume muds
of the secondary and primary processing.
Population connected to independent services of
water processing.
Without information
SOLUTIONS

Harmonization of the Environmental Statistics
A solution undertaken by the INE is this project.




That would permit to require greater quality to the
information.
To improve the opportunity in the delivery.
To make hierarchical the data according to the
objectives.
Spread toward the international comparability of the
figures.
The development of this project implies to maintain narrower
relations of work with the specialists of each agency, what is
very useful for the solution of consultations, commitments in
the delivery of data, to improve the quality of the information
and to promote in transit, the statistical culture.

The Institutes of Statistics must give more support
to the Units of Environment responsible of the reply
to the questionnaires of the international agencies.
HARMONIZATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL
STATISTICS. Project INE

The purpose is to management the information in order to
give account the national and international requests by
means of a platform of data that permit the International
comparability of the figures, particularly with the OCDE and
EUROSTAT, applying also the attributes of quality to the
information, originating from administrative registrations.

Start was given al project with the application of a slip
technical-methodological to the agencies for the purpose of
having metadata and methodologies of obtaining of the
registrations, besides permits to generate a board of
directors of specialists.

The project is framed in the System of Environmental
Statistics to utilize its instruments and main tools.
THE SYSTEM OF ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS
(SES )

It is conducive to the elaboration of information and
warning that satisfy the own needs of the country with
opportune, necessary information and of whose quality
data be, in the measure of the possible thing, comparable
to international scale.

It is a matter of establishing a basic platform of essential
statistical processing to have opportune, transparent, and
dependable data, of systematic registration, periodic
diffusion with solid statistical validity.
THE SYSTEM OF ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS
(SES )

The System of Environmental Statistics (SES) is inserted in
the framework of the National Statistical System.

Is conceived (SES) as a central column of integration of the
statistics of the agencies and businesses of the State that
have tuition on these matters being the INE the
Coordinating entity in the collection and presentation of the
statistical matters.

The INE, give official character through publications
specialized and/or for the purpose of utilizing it for the
construction of indicators on the matter.

The INE besides, coordinates, through the SES, Committee
of Environmental Statistics, that includes representatives
of agencies of the State involved in environmental topics
for the purpose of obtaining and to systematize the
information that is processed and tabulated for its official
diffusion.
THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE SYSTEM

Management of environmental information capturing data
of different origins, processing and diffusing the
series opportunely and with quality.

To obtain information of comparable, systematic
registration, of quality and opportune.

To Generate in the measure of the possible thing, new
information through surveys (as was the First Survey of
Environmental Management in the Industry applied in
2001).

To Devise environmental indicators.

To prepare a Board of Directors of Institutions and
National Experts on the matter.
THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF THE SYSTEM
(Cont.)

To have you put on File Techniques referred to the
metadata and besides to the methodologies of obtaining
of the information.

To respond to the request of international agencies.

To diffuse in the middle adequate official data, Yearbooks,
Bulletins, compact disks and Internet
The
Instruments of
the System
The National Plan
of Statistical
Collection (NPSC)
The Annual
Operating
Program (AOP)
Interinstitution
al Committee of
Environmental
Statistics
PROJECTIONS

The INE has worked jointly with the Economic Commission
for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in the
structure of the information requested and the proposed
technical slip to the countries of the region to have a
platform of comparable data.

Previously, 2001- 2001, it worked jointly with CEPAL and
INEGI of Mexico, to show to the countries the detail of the
System of Environmental Statistics.

With the National Commission of the Environment
(CONAMA), has itself determined to take up again the
contribution among both institutions for the purpose of
organizing the levels of management and operability,
coordinating with the agencies of the State through the
Committee of Environmental Statistics.