La Serena's multipurpose desalination plant enters environmental assessment

The company Desaladora La Serena SpA has submitted the “Multipurpose Desalination Plant - La Serena” project to the Environmental Impact Assessment System (SEIA), through an Environmental Impact Study (EIA) presented to the Environmental Evaluation Service (SEA) of the Coquimbo Region. The announcement is published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,537, Saturday, August 29, 2026, Section I, pages 1 to 3, under reference CVE 2862971.

The initiative, represented by Sergio Andrés Blümel González and Diego Uribe-Etxeverria Michaelsen, is being processed in accordance with Law No. 19,300 on General Bases of the Environment and Supreme Decree No. 40/2012 of the Ministry of the Environment, Regulations of the Environmental Impact Assessment System. The abstract was approved by the Regional Directorate of the SEA of Coquimbo via Letter No. 20260400320, signed by regional director Erwin William Gajardo Pizarro.

A 2,000 liters per second project

The multipurpose desalination plant, based on reverse osmosis technology, will have a maximum design production capacity of 2,000 liters per second of desalinated water, with a deferred sequential operation:

• Partial Operation 1: 500 liters per second (years 1 to 5 of operation).
• Partial Operation 2: 1,000 liters per second (years 6 to 10).
• Full Operation: 2,000 liters per second (from year 11 onwards).

The production increase will be achieved through two stages of equipment enablement (Operational Growth 1 and 2), the second of which incorporates a new seawater intake line and an additional product water distribution pipeline.

Works, location, and investment

The project includes maritime and coastal works, the seawater intake system, the desalination plant, the brine discharge, and the distribution system to the Terminal Station, as well as a 66 kilovolt electrical transmission line of approximately 7.68 kilometers and a 220/66 kilovolt sectioning substation. It will be located in the commune of La Serena, Elqui province, Punta Porotos sector, approximately 18 kilometers north of the city.

• Estimated investment: USD$ 370,000,000.
• Useful life: 44 years.
• Labor: 381 workers during construction, 60 during operation, and 289 during closure.

Impacts and mitigation measures

The submission as an EIA is justified by literals b) and d) of Article 11 of Law No. 19,300, relating to adverse effects on renewable natural resources and the proximity to protected areas and priority sites for conservation. Among the planned measures are:

• Environmental management plan for native vegetational formations and threatened species.
• Rescue and relocation of low-mobility wildlife.
• Provision of burrows for specimens of Marine Otter (Lontra felina).
• Deterrence of Marine Otters and South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens).

Public Consultation

Natural and legal persons may submit observations to the EIA within a period of 60 business days, counted from the business day following the last publication of the summary in the Official Gazette and in a regional or national newspaper. The background information will be available on the SEA website (www.sea.gob.cl), at the Coquimbo regional office (Avenida Gabriela Mistral N° 2862, La Serena), at the Regional Government of Coquimbo, and at the Illustrious Municipality of La Serena.

The entry into evaluation of this multipurpose desalination plant is key for the water security of the Coquimbo Region, an area affected by water scarcity. The result of the process, which will depend on the public consultation and the environmental qualification of the SEA, will define whether the region will be able to have a new source of desalinated water for productive and supply uses.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,537, August 29, 2026, Section I, pp. 1-3 (official reference: CVE 2862971).