Villarrica's rainwater master plan approved with projection to 2040

The Ministry of Public Works approved the Master Plan for Evacuation and Stormwater Drainage of Villarrica, La Araucanía Region, through Decree No. 54, signed on June 5, 2024, and published this Tuesday, October 20, 2026, in the Official Gazette No. 44,578, Section I, pages 1 to 6, with CVE 2884276. The instrument defines the study area comprising the urban development of the commune and its future projection until the year 2040, and establishes which works integrate the primary network of the drainage system. The Comptroller General of the Republic processed the decree with scope through official letter OF185333/2026, dated September 30, 2026.

The plan is issued under the protection of Law No. 19,525 and the powers of Article 32 No. 6 of the Political Constitution. The basic technical study, contracted by the Directorate of Hydraulic Works, had been approved by Ord. DOH IX No. 2300, dated December 3, 2018. The decree bears the signatures of President Gabriel Boric Font, the Minister of Public Works Jessica López Saffie, and the Minister of Housing and Urbanism Carlos Montes Cisternas, and was transcribed by the Undersecretary of Public Works Nicolás Balmaceda Jimeno.

What the primary network comprises

Article 2 defines the primary network as the natural and artificial channels receiving the drainage systems of the pattern defined in the plan, plus all existing and projected open or piped channels. The network also includes stormwater collectors, existing and projected, with diameters equal to or greater than 500 millimeters or equivalent section.

The definition is illustrated in three official sheets:

• Plan 199, code 7:216-24-199 1/5, Primary Network Definition Plan (1/5).
• Plan 200, code 7:216-24-200 2/5, Primary Network Definition Plan (2/5).
• Plan 201, code 7:216-24-201 3/5, Primary Network Definition Plan (3/5).

The list of works is organized into 18 systems, including Pedregoso Norte (1), Pedregoso Centro (2), Pedregoso Sur (3), Valdivia (5), Toltén Sur (6), Carrera (7), Borde Lago-1 (8), Villarrica Centro (9), Weber 3 (12), Colo Colo (13), Zúñiga (14), Weber-1 (15), Weber-Lautaro (16), Iribarren Poniente (17), Iribarren Oriente (18), La Puntilla (19), Voipir-4 (39), and Ingeniero Veillón (48).

Exceptions and projected works

The decree expressly excludes the private channels Weber 1, Weber 2, Weber 3, Mario Cortés, and Los Notros Riego from the primary network. In the Villarrica Centro system, the Canal Mario Cortés Paralelo 1, the Canal Mario Cortés Paralelo 2, and the Canal 21 de Mayo are incorporated as projected works, along with collectors such as Balmaceda, Korner, Letelier, Matta, Mario Cortés, Las Industrias, and the Las Colinas reinforcement.

Powers of the Directorate of Hydraulic Works and duties of developers

Article 3 allows for the modification of the location and dimensions of the projected works through subsequent studies, provided that changes to the primary network are approved by an exempt resolution from the Dirección de Obras Hidráulicas (Directorate of Hydraulic Works) and the plans are adjusted accordingly. Article 4 requires developers planning urbanizations not considered in the plan to submit their evacuation and drainage project to the same service, which will complete the definition of the primary network and issue the corresponding exempt resolution.

Article 5 requires that the design of the secondary network be consistent with the master plan planning, pursuant to Article 12 letter g) of DL 1.305, of 1975, as amended by Law No. 19.525. A copy of the document will be archived at the Information Center of the Dirección de Obras Hidráulicas for consultation by interested third parties.

The Comptroller’s Observation

The oversight body specified that in Plan No. 199, the boundary between systems No. 8 and No. 9, named Borde Lago-1 and Villarrica Centro, is graphed with a green line, whereas the sheet’s symbology requires a black line. The observation was signed by Natalia Rita Gutiérrez Soto, head of the Public Works Committee of the Infrastructure and Regulation Division.

The master plan is binding for owners, real estate companies, and the municipality of Villarrica: any urban project within the study area must be coordinated with the defined primary network and obtain a pronouncement from the Dirección de Obras Hidráulicas, which conditions real estate development in an area with flood risk until 2040.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44.578, Tuesday, October 20, 2026, Section I, pp. 1-6 (official reference: CVE 2884276).