Health Seremi declares sanitary risk zone in Freire housing

The Regional Ministerial Secretariat of Health (Seremi) of La Araucanía declared the affected homes of the Mahuidache community, in the rural sector of the commune of Freire, as a sanitary risk zone due to the flooding of the land and their private sewage systems. The decision is contained in exempt resolution No. CP 22.154, signed in Temuco on September 16, 2026, and was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile No. 44.567, on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, Section I, pages 1 to 3 (official reference: CVE 2880292).

The legal framework of the declaration

The resolution is issued by virtue of Article 67 of the Sanitary Code, which obliges the regional authority to ensure that all factors, elements, or agents of the environment that affect the health, safety, and well-being of the inhabitants are eliminated or controlled. Furthermore, Article 9 letter b) and Article 14 of the same legal body, Article 12 No. 2 of DFL No. 1 of 2006, and Decree No. 236 of 1926, which regulates private sewers, septic tanks, and domestic latrines, are invoked.

The document was signed by Rodrigo Arzumendi Cifuentes, Acting Regional Ministerial Secretary of Health of La Araucanía, appointed in that capacity by exempt decree No. 56 of August 24, 2026, from the Undersecretariat of Public Health. The declaration is supported by the ALFA Damage and Needs Assessment System Report No. 33-A, from the Municipality of Freire, and the situation report prepared by an inspecting official from the Pitrufquén OAS of the Seremi itself.

Two flooded homes and a well without disinfection

The technical report, dated September 11, 2026, accounts for the impact on two homes in the Mahuidache community due to the flooding of their septic tanks and pits, following the rainfall recorded in the area. The field inspection confirmed:

• One home with a sewage system consisting of septic tanks and an absorption system, with the area where it is located completely flooded.
• A second home with a water-flush toilet that discharges into a cesspool, observed to be flooded at the time of inspection.
• Accumulated water around both homes and humid conditions inside, including damage to the bathroom of one of them.
• Water supply via a well that does not have a disinfection system.
• Adjacent lands saturated by rains, which affects the normal operation of private sewage systems.

The report concludes that, although no presence of sewage was found inside the homes, there is an imminent risk to the health of the inhabitants due to the possibility of sewage overflowing into the environment and the eventual contamination of the water supply source. The ALFA Report adds that municipal personnel evaluated the land and verified the availability of septic tanks to install them in a higher elevation sector, in order to reduce the risk of new flooding.

The obligations assumed by the municipality

The second article of the resolution establishes that the Municipality of Freire must implement and/or manage the necessary sanitary measures so that the health of the inhabitants of the affected homes is not compromised. Specifically, the municipality must consider:

• Ensuring the supply of potable water as long as the flooding persists.
• The cleaning of the affected septic tanks and cesspools.
• The cleaning of the evacuation channel for the accumulated waters.
• The cleaning and disinfection of the sectors where sewage overflow exists.
• Other necessary actions to eliminate or control the established sanitary risk.

The declaration extends for the time that is strictly necessary for the elimination or control of the risk. The fourth article specifies that the resolution entered into force without waiting for its publication in the Official Gazette, due to the urgency required to adopt the measures, and the third article orders its publication in both the Official Gazette and on the website of the Seremi de Salud de La Araucanía.

The measure places a rural sector under sanitary guardianship that had already been identified by the municipality as an area affected by flooding, and transfers the execution of emergency works and supplies to the communal government. For the residents of Mahuidache, the resolution implies the official recognition of an imminent sanitary risk and enables direct intervention on tanks, wells, and evacuation channels, in addition to guaranteeing potable water while the land remains flooded.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,567, Tuesday, October 6, 2026, Section I, pp. 1-3 (official reference: CVE 2880292).