Reglamento Agua English

REGULATION OF THE WATER RESOURCES LAW
WATER USES AND DEVELOPMENT

Executive Order 650
Official Gazette Supplement 483 of April 20,
2015 Status: In effect
No. 650
Rafael Correa Delgado

CONSTITUTIONAL PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
Whereas:
That numeral 13 of article 147 of the Constitution of the Republic indicates that the Head of State is
empowered to issue the necessary regulations for the application of the laws, without contravening or
altering them;
That the Organic Law on Water Resources, Uses and Development of Water is published in the
Official Gazette Supplement 305 of August 6, 2014;
That in order to guarantee the full application of the aforementioned law, it is convenient to issue its
Regulations; and,
In use of the constitutional and legal powers vested in him. Decrees:
To issue the Regulations to the Organic Law on Water Resources, Uses and Development of
Water BOOK ONE
NATIONAL STRATEGIC WATER SYSTEM
Art. 1 - Composition of the National Strategic Water System: In accordance with the provisions of
Article 15 of the Organic Law on Water Resources, Use and Development of Water, the National
Strategic Water System is composed of:
1. The Single Water Authority, which directs it;

2. The Intercultural and Plurinational Water Council;
3. The Water Regulation and Control Agency (ARCA), attached to the Single Water Authority;
4. Decentralized Autonomous Governments; and,
5. The Cuenca Councils.
The Decentralized Autonomous Governments, in the field of water and public services, shall exercise
the powers granted to them by the Organic Code of Territorial Organization, Autonomy and
Decentralization and the Law. Their relationship with the Water Secretariat shall be based on the
principles of autonomy, coordination and complementarity.
TITLE ONE
THE SINGLE WATER AUTHORITY
Art. 2.- The Single Water Authority is the Water Secretariat. It directs the National Strategic Water
System and is a legal entity under public law. Its head shall be appointed by the
REGULATION OF THE WATER RESOURCES LAW - Water Use and Development - Page 1
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President of the Republic and shall have the rank of Minister of State.
The Water Secretariat is responsible for the steering, planning and management of water resources.
Its competences are those established in Article 18 of the Law.
Its management will be decentralized in the territory and will be based on the criterion of respect for
the hydrographic basin.
The Water Regulation and Control Agency is attached to the Water Secretariat. It relies on the Public
Water Company for its activities.
CHAPTER ONE
THE WATER SECRETARY
Art. 3 - Structure of the Water Secretariat: The Water Secretariat has a central organization
composed of bodies whose competence extends to the entire territory of the country and a
decentralized organization whose territorial base will depend on the Hydrographic Demarcation.
Art. 4.- Central organization of the Water Secretariat: The Water Secretariat shall be headed by a
Secretary and its central organization is based on the technical and administrative management units
by areas as determined by its Organic Statute of Organizational Management by Processes, which
includes the other bodies of the Secretariat and their areas of competence.
Art. 5 - Deconcentrated organization of the Water Secretariat: Water planning and water
management shall be carried out by the Water Secretariat on the basis of the River Basin District,
which shall be constituted by the grouping of neighboring river basins in accordance with the
definition of river basin contained in Article 7 of these Regulations.
Each River Basin District will be headed by an Undersecretary with the attributions contained in the
Organic Statute of Organizational Management by Processes of the Water Secretariat.
Art. 6.- Sub-processes: Sub-processes of the administration of the public water service are
understood to be the supply of drinking water, sewerage and wastewater treatment.
For the purposes of Article 7 of the Law, public water service is understood to be that provided by the
Autonomous Decentralized Municipal Decentralized Governments for the supply of drinking water
and wastewater treatment.
The initiative of the popular and solidarity economy or the private initiative may participate in said sub-
processes following the constitutional parameters, when the Municipal Decentralized Autonomous
Government does not have the technical or financial conditions to do so by itself.
Article 7 - River basin and the principle of basin unity in the management of River Basin Districts - In
accordance with the provisions of Article 8 of the Law, a river basin is understood to be the territorial
unit delimited by the dividing line of its waters that drain superficially towards a common watercourse.
When the limits of the subway waters do not coincide with the dividing line of surface waters, such
delimitation shall include the projection of the subway recharge waters flowing into the basin delimited
superficially.
The Water Secretariat will approve the specific delimitation of the river basins and their possible
grouping, for the purposes of water planning and water management, as well as for the allocation of
groundwater to the corresponding basin, in River Basin Districts.
In accordance with the principle of integrated and integrated water management, it is the responsibility
of the Water Authority to
Hydrographic Demarcation or to the Technical Responsible of the Citizen Service Center (CAC) the
resolution of the different administrative procedures to be developed for water management within its
territorial area of competence, especially in relation to the granting of authorizations for water use and
development.
The Hydrographic Demarcation and the Citizen Service Centers shall process, as the case may be,
the water authorization requests made by the interested parties, all within the framework of the
corresponding rules that may be issued by the Water Regulation and Control Agency, taking into
account what is indicated in Book Three of these Regulations on the processing of the granting of
water authorizations.
CHAPTER TWO
THE WATER REGULATION AND CONTROL AGENCY
Art. 8.- Nature and general attributions: The Water Regulation and Control Agency (ARCA) is a public
law agency, of a technical-administrative nature, attached to the Water Secretariat, with legal
personality, administrative and financial autonomy, its own assets and national jurisdiction.
The Water Regulation and Control Agency will regulate and control the integral and integrated
management of water resources, the quantity and quality of water in its sources and recharge areas,
the quality of public services related to the water sector and all water uses, exploitation and
destinations.
The Water Regulation and Control Agency shall determine which are the Decentralized Autonomous
Governments in which all or some of the sub-processes referred to in article
6 of this Regulation, do not reach the adequate levels of quality of service, according to the technical
regulation dictated for such purpose, for which information may be requested to such Decentralized
Autonomous Governments.
The powers of the Water Regulation and Control Agency are those set forth in Article 23 of the Law.
Art. 9 - Board of Directors of the Water Regulation and Control Agency - The Board of Directors of
the Water Regulation and Control Agency shall be composed as follows:
1. The Secretary of Water or his delegate, who shall preside over it;
2. The Coordinating Minister of Strategic Sectors or his/her delegate; and,
3. The National Secretary of Planning and Development or his delegate.
Representatives of public entities whose participation is deemed necessary may be invited to the
meetings of the Board of Directors, who may participate in the deliberations but may not take part in
the voting.
The Executive Director of the Agency shall serve as Secretary of the Board of Directors.
Article 10 - Powers of the Board of Directors - The Board of Directors of the Water Regulation and
Control Agency shall have the following powers:
1. Appoint and remove the Executive Director of the Agency;

2. Supervise and control the management of the Executive Director;
3. To establish, by means of a resolution, the administrative and financial structure that will allow the
Agency to fully comply with the competencies established in the Law and its Regulations;
4. To issue such rules and policies as may be required for the operation of the Agency; and,
5. Any others established by law and applicable regulations.
Art. 11 - Director of the Water Regulation and Control Agency - The Director of the Agency shall
exercise its legal, judicial and extrajudicial representation.
The person to be appointed as Director (a) of the Agency shall:
1. To have a third level degree;

2. Proof of knowledge and experience in similar or related activities; and,
3. Any others determined by law.
Once appointed, he/she shall have no connection with economic or professional activities related to
the Agency's institutional mission.
Art. 12.- Powers of the Executive Director.- The powers of the Executive Director are as follows:
1. To direct and coordinate the operation of the Agency in accordance with the provisions of the legal
framework in force, national and sectorial policies, objectives, strategies and guidelines established
by the Board of Directors;
2. To advise the Secretary of Water on matters related to the management of the Agency or at the
request of the aforementioned Authority;
3. To issue the prior binding report for the granting of authorizations for water use and productive use
of water, when applicable, in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations;
4. To process and resolve the procedures for infringement of the regulations established by the
Agency, issuing the corresponding resolution, as the case may be;
5. Act as Secretary of the Board of Directors; and,
6. Any others established by the Board of Directors within the general competencies of the Agency
regulated in Article 23 of the Law.
CHAPTER THREE
RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SECRETARIAT OF WATER AND THE WATER REGULATION AND
CONTROL AGENCY
Art. 13 - Coordination of actions: Without prejudice to the proper exercise of their respective
competences, the Water Secretariat and the Water Regulation and Control Agency shall collaborate
with the aim of achieving proper water regulation and control.
For such purposes, both agencies may use the files and information systems of each one of them,
avoiding duplication of actions. In particular, the Secretariat for Water will make available to the
Agency the information derived from the Public Water Registry and the documentation used to make
the corresponding registrations.
Article 14 - Evaluation of the Water Regulation and Control Agency - Pursuant to the provisions of
Article 21 of the Law, the Water Secretariat is responsible for the periodic evaluation of the Agency's
regulatory and control management, which shall consist of the evaluation of compliance with the
regulatory agenda and the corresponding control plan approved by the Board of Directors.
For the purpose of conducting the evaluation, the Secretary of Water shall appoint an Evaluation
Committee.
The report will be approved by the Committee and submitted to the Secretary for Water, which will
contain a judgment on the Agency's activity as well as proposals for the improvement of its activities.
The Agency will carry out the appropriate actions to correct the defects pointed out in the evaluation.
Art. 15.- Reports of the Agency in the procedure for the granting of authorizations - Pursuant to the
provisions of article 21 of the Law, the Agency, through the Director, is responsible for
Executive(a) to issue a prior binding report for the granting of authorizations for water use and
exploitation.
The binding report shall deal with the administrative file developed in the River Basin District, once
the procedure for the granting of an authorization has been carried out. The report shall:
a) To verify the regularity of the procedure carried out by observing the practice of the formalities
provided for in the Law and in these Regulations; and,
b) Verify that the proposed resolution is consistent with the contents of the Basin Water Resources
Management Plan, if any.
The insertion of the report in the corresponding administrative procedure shall be regulated in these
Regulations.
These reports of the Agency shall not be subject to any appeal. Appeals, if any, may be lodged by the
interested parties against the final resolution of the water use and development authorization
procedure issued by the River Basin District Authority.
Art. 16.- Resolution of appeals by the Water Secretariat: Pursuant to Article 18, paragraph n) of the
Law, the Water Secretariat is responsible for hearing and resolving appeals and other appeals filed
with respect to administrative resolutions issued by the Water Regulation and Control Agency.
The regime of appeals shall be governed by the provisions of the Statute of the Administrative Legal
Regime of the Executive Function (ERJAFE).
CHAPTER FOUR
THE PUBLIC WATER REGISTRY
Article 17 - General characteristics - The Water Secretariat is responsible for managing the Public
Water Registry regulated in Article 24 of the Law, which consists of a computerized data structure
through which the information on water uses and exploitation, as well as the rest of the documents
referred to in the Law, will be organized. The computerized structure to be created will be adequate to
allow the issuance of certifications on the registrations.
The IT structure will make it possible to organize information based on that collected and updated by
the River Basin Districts and the existing Citizen Service Centers for the purposes of water planning
and water management.
The Public Water Registry is of a public nature. Its access through the issuance of certifications will
be governed by the rules established by the Secretariat of Water, who will be in charge of issuing the
policies and guidelines for information management in the Public Water Registry, and protocols
required for the exchange of information.
Article 18 - Structure of the registry and obligations for the communication of acts and their
registration: The Public Water Registry shall be determined by the Single Water Authority and shall
consist of the Sections determined, which shall serve as a general referential classification and shall
not affect the logical model of the data for the system.
Entries in the Public Water Registry will be made by the different institutional bodies of the Single
Water Authority or other public institutions that generate information related to the Public Water
Registry, subject to the guidelines issued by the Single Water Authority.
Article 19 - Modification and cancellation of registrations - Whenever a decision is taken that
In the event of a change in the content of a water development or productive use authorization, or of
the rest of the resolutions that have been the object of registration, the authority of the Single Water
Authority that generated the resolution shall register it in the Public Water Registry, by means of a
marginal note on the original folio of the registration, within ten days from the date of its issuance. The
same shall apply to cancellation resolutions.
Article 20 - Effects of registration - Registration in the Public Water Registry shall be a means of
proof of the existence and characteristics of the authorizations and of the rest of the documents
included in the Registry.
The holders of authorizations entered in the Register may request the collaboration of the Secretariat
for Water in the defense of their rights against anyone who, without a registered right, opposes the
holder's right or disturbs its exercise.
Article 21 - Issuance of certifications - The issuance of certifications of the entries contained in the
Register may be requested, respecting the confidential nature of the personal data.
Certifications may be issued in electronic or paper format. They may be verbatim or in extract.
The literal certifications will reproduce the data of an inscription as they appear in the corresponding
folio of the Registry. Extract certifications will refer only to the specific matters requested.
TITLE TWO
USER ORGANIZATIONS AND RIVER BASIN COUNCILS
CHAPTER ONE USER

ORGANIZATIONS
Art. 22.- Users and Users' Organizations: General Principles: A user is any holder of an authorization
for the productive use or exploitation of water.
Consumers of water-related services provided by the Decentralized Autonomous Governments, or

members of the Drinking Water Supply Boards or Irrigation Boards are not considered users. The
representation of the persons mentioned in this paragraph in the participation bodies regulated in this
Regulation may take place through consumer organizations, in accordance with the Law.
Users of the same productive sector of a basin may group together for the purposes of joining the
participation bodies provided for in the Law and these Regulations. Productive sectors shall be
understood to be those included in the productive uses in accordance with Article 93 of the Law.
Use shall be understood as the basic and indispensable activities for life: human consumption,
irrigation, aquaculture and animal watering to ensure food sovereignty. In the case of Drinking Water
Management Boards and Irrigation Boards, they may group together to create the organization of
Drinking Water and Irrigation Boards, respectively, by basin.
Art. 23.- Users' Organizations: Constitution: The Water Secretariat shall prepare, on a participatory
basis, an Operational Regulation for the constitution and operation of the organization, respecting the
requirements set forth in the Law and these Regulations.
Without prejudice to the provisions of this article, the Secretariat of Water shall promote the creation
of commissions to promote the creation of users' organizations.
Art. 24.- Organizational structure of the users' organizations: The users' organizations shall reflect an
organizational structure based on the following bodies:
a) An Assembly to which all its members shall belong;

b) An Executive Committee composed of a minimum of three persons to be elected by the Assembly,
who shall prepare the work plan; and,
c) A Coordinator of the users' organization who shall also be elected by the Assembly.
The Coordinator and the members of the Executive Committee shall serve for 2 years. The members
of the Executive Committee, once the term for which they were elected has expired, may be elected
again, once another term has elapsed.
The Assembly shall hold at least one meeting per year and shall be responsible for approving the
organization's work plan. The Assembly shall also be responsible for electing its representatives to
the Basin Council.
CHAPTER TWO BASIN

COUNCILS
Art. 25.- Nature of the Basin Councils: The Basin Councils are collegiate bodies of a consultative
nature, led by the Water Secretariat and composed of elected representatives of the users'
organizations, with the purpose of participating in the formulation, planning, evaluation and control of
water resources in the respective basin.
The Basin Councils will also include the participation of the authorities of the different levels of
government in their respective areas of responsibility, as well as representatives of the Universities or
Polytechnic Schools.
Art. 26.- Classes.- There shall be River Basin Councils with Local Hydrographic Planning Unit scope,
and River Basin Councils with Hydrographic District scope.
The Local Hydrographic Planning Units and the territorial scope of the Hydrographic Districts will be
those defined according to the planning determined by the Single Water Authority.
The members of these bodies shall not receive salaries or fees for the performance of their duties, nor
shall they have any relationship of dependence with the Water Secretariat.
The Water Secretariat will be in charge of managing the financing for the operation and organization
of the Basin Councils, complying with an annual program.
Art. 27.- Composition of the River Basin Councils with Local Hydrographic Planning Unit scope.- The
River Basin Councils with Local Hydrographic Planning Unit scope shall have the following
composition
Local Hydrographic Planning shall have the following composition:
a) One representative for the user organizations of the productive sectors existing in the Local
Hydrographic Planning Unit;
b) One representative for the organization of existing Water Boards in the Local Hydrographic
Planning Unit;
c) One representative for the organization of existing Irrigation Boards in the Local Hydrographic
Planning Unit;
d) Representatives of the Decentralized Autonomous Governments existing in the local hydrographic
planning unit: one representative of the Provincial Decentralized Autonomous Governments, one
representative of the Municipal Decentralized Autonomous Governments and one representative of
the Parish Governments, if the latter have been delegated.
water competition; and,
e) A representative of the Universities and Polytechnics existing in the Local Hydrological Planning
Unit.
The Coordinator of the Basin Council of the Local Hydrographic Planning Unit shall be the
Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or its institutional delegate. The Hydrographic Demarcation shall
promote the relevant actions to be carried out so that the different sectors designate their
representatives in the Council.
The organizations that must elect representatives shall respect the principle of equal participation,
interculturality, plurinationality, multiethnicity, respect for differences; and shall also elect alternates
who, after notifying the Council, may attend the meetings when the incumbent is unable to do so,
The term of office of the representatives in the Basin Council of the Local Hydrographic Planning Unit
shall be two years and they may be reelected only once.
The Water Secretariat shall prepare, in a participatory manner, an Operational Regulation for the
operation of the Basin Councils, respecting the requirements set forth in the Law and these
Regulations.
Art. 28.- Composition of the River Basin Councils with Hydrographic Demarcation scope: The River
Basin Councils with Hydrographic Demarcation scope shall be composed of:
a) A representative of the productive sector elected among the Local Hydrographic Planning Unit
Councils that make up the Hydrographic Demarcation;
b) One representative for the organizations of Drinking Water Supply Boards elected among the
Local Hydrographic Planning Unit Councils that make up the Hydrographic Demarcation;
c) One representative for the organizations of Irrigation Boards elected among the Local
Hydrographic Planning Unit Councils that make up the Hydrographic Demarcation;
d) Representatives of the Decentralized Autonomous Governments elected among the Councils of
the Local Hydrographic Planning Unit that make up the Hydrographic Demarcation: one representative
of the Provincial Decentralized Autonomous Governments, one representative of the Municipal
Decentralized Autonomous Governments and one representative of the Parish Governments in the
event that the latter have been delegated water jurisdiction;
e) A representative of the Universities or Polytechnic Schools elected among the Councils of the
Local Hydrological Planning Unit that make up the Hydrological Demarcation.
f) A delegate from the Risk Secretariat
g) A delegate from the National Environmental Authority; and,
h) A representative of the Water Secretariat,
The Coordinator of the River Basin Council with River Basin District scope shall be the River Basin
District Authority, or its institutional delegate. Each River Basin District shall carry out the pertinent
actions so that the representatives of the River Basin Councils with Local River Basin Planning Unit
scope are elected to the River Basin Council with River Basin District scope in its jurisdiction.
Depending on the dynamics of the basin and the issues to be discussed at the meetings of the River
Basin District Basin Council, representatives of institutions with competence, leadership or inherence
in the specific issues to be discussed may be called.
The term of office of the representatives in the River Basin Council at the River Basin District level
shall be two years and they may be reelected only once.
The Water Secretariat will develop, in a participatory manner, an Operational Regulation for the
The operation of the River Basin Councils with a River Basin District scope, respecting the
Art. 29.- Functions of the Basin Councils with Local Hydrographic Planning Unit scope: The following
functions correspond to the Basin Council with Local Hydrographic Planning Unit scope:
a) To elect from among its members its representatives to the River Basin Council at the River Basin
District level;
b) Participate in the formulation of guidelines and orientations as well as in the follow-up of the
Integrated River Basin Management Plan, within the framework of the National Water Resources
Plan;
c) Generate proposals for sectoral public policies related to water resources, which will be presented
to the River Basin Council at the River Basin District level, through its representatives;
d) To make statements to the Water Secretariat on all matters of interest to it; these are understood
to be all those related to water planning and management in its territorial area and those that are
requested of it;
e) Participate in the consultation processes carried out by the Water Secretariat and propose priority
topics for the management of the Local Hydrographic Planning Unit;
f) To resolve matters that concern it and that could influence the operation of the Basin Council with
the scope of a Local Hydrographic Planning Unit;
g) Monitor that the decisions of the policies and integrated management plans of the Local
Hydrographic Planning Unit are translated into budgetary allocations of the different levels of
government involved in the aforementioned unit; and,
h) Any others established in the Law and in these Regulations.
Art. 30.- Functions of the River Basin Councils with Hydrographic Demarcation scope: The following
functions correspond to the River Basin Council with Hydrographic Demarcation scope:
a) To elect representatives to the Intercultural and Plurinational Water Council from among its
members;
b) Participate in the formulation of guidelines and orientations as well as the follow-up of the National
Water Resources Plan;
c) Generate proposals for sectoral public policies related to water resources, which will be presented
to the Intercultural and Plurinational Water Council through its representatives;
d) To make statements to the Water Secretariat on all matters of interest to it; these are understood
to be all those related to water planning and management in its territorial area and those requested by
it;
e) Participate in the consultation processes carried out by the Water Secretariat and propose priority
topics for the management of the River Basin District;
f) Resolve matters that concern him/her and that may influence the operation of the Council;
g) To monitor that the decisions of the policies and plans for the integrated management of the
watersheds that make up the River Basin District are translated into budgetary allocations at the
different levels of government; and,
h) Any others established in the Law and in these Regulations.
TITLE THREE
THE INTERCULTURAL AND PLURINATIONAL WATER COUNCIL
Article 31 - Composition: The composition of the Intercultural and Plurinational Water Council shall
be as follows:
a) A representative of the productive sector elected from among the River Basin Councils with
Hydrographic Demarcation scope;
b) One representative of the Water Boards elected from among the Basin Councils with a scope of
action
of Hydrographic Demarcation;
c) A representative of the Irrigation Boards elected among the River Basin Councils with
Hydrographic Demarcation scope;
d) Representatives of the peoples and nationalities: one indigenous, one Afro-Ecuadorian and one
Montubio;
e) A representative of citizen organizations of consumers of public utilities;
f) Representatives of the Decentralized Autonomous Governments elected among the Basin Councils
with Hydrographic Demarcation scope: one representative of the Provincial Decentralized
Autonomous Governments, one representative of the Municipal Decentralized Autonomous
Governments and one representative of the Parochial Governments in the event that the latter have
been delegated water competencies; and
g) A representative of the Universities or Polytechnic Schools elected from among the River Basin
Councils with Hydrographic Demarcation scope.
The Council shall be presided over by a Chairman (a) elected from among its members.
The members of the Intercultural and Plurinational Water Council shall be elected for a period of two
years and may be reelected only once. They shall not receive salaries or fees for the performance of
their duties, nor shall they have any relationship of dependence with the Water Secretariat.
The Intercultural and Plurinational Council, in coordination with the Water Secretariat, shall prepare,
in a participatory manner, an Operational Regulation for the functioning of the Council, respecting the
Art. 32.- Election.- The Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control is responsible for
organizing the election process of the members of the Intercultural and Plurinational Water Council in
accordance with the organizational and procedural rules that it may dictate and taking into account the
sectors of representation and the number of representatives of each one of them established in the
preceding article.
Once the election takes place, the Council of Citizen Participation and Social Control will summon the
elected representatives to the act of constitution of the Intercultural and Plurinational Water Council,
being mandatory that in its first meeting the election of its President takes place.
Article 33 - Functions: In accordance with the provisions of Article 20 of the Law, the functions of the
Intercultural and Plurinational Water Council are the following:
a) Elect from among its members the representative to the Plurinational Assembly of Good Living.
b) To carry out social control over the guarantee and exercise of the human right to water and its
equitable distribution;
c) Participate in the formulation, evaluation and control of public policies on water resources;
d) Participate in the formulation of guidelines and monitoring of the National Water Resources Plan;
e) Generate public debates on issues related to integrated and comprehensive water resources
management;
f) Participate in promoting the dissemination of ancestral knowledge about the natural properties of
water;
g) To render an account to the citizenship on its management, approving each year a report on the
same and making it public as well as sending it to the Council of Citizen Participation and Social
Control;
h) Contribute to and promote the resolution of controversies and conflicts arising among water users;
and
i) Any other duties attributed to it by the legal system.
TITLE FOUR WATER

PLANNING
Article 34 - General Principles: Water planning shall be geared to the satisfaction of water demands
and to the protection of the resource and the ecosystems in which it is found. It shall also serve to
balance and harmonize regional and sectoral development by increasing the availability of the
resource, protecting its quality, economizing its use, and rationalizing its uses in harmony with the
environment and natural resources.
Article 35 - Types of Plans - Water planning shall be carried out by means of:
a) The National Water Resources Plan; and,

b) The Integrated Water Resources Management Plans by River Basin shall have the territorial
scope of the River Basin District, without prejudice to the possibility of adopting decisions limited to a
river basin of those integrated within the District. These Plans shall respect the general guidelines
contained in the National Water Resources Plan.
The National Water Resources Plan, depending on the needs of preparation and contents, will cover
all or some of the different Integrated Water Resources Management Plans by River Basin, provided
that the information and decisions related to each territorial planning area are separate and
distinguishable.
Article 36 - Content of Water Planning: The National Water Resources Plan shall contain the
provisions of Article 29 of the Law, and shall be under the responsibility of the Water Secretariat,
which shall be responsible for determining its content, preparation and approval.
Art. 37.- Effects of the Plans: The State and the Decentralized Autonomous Governments shall be
subject to the plans regulated in this Title with respect to the exercise of their competencies. Likewise,
the Integrated Water Resources Management Plans by basin with Hydrographic Demarcation scope
shall bind the entities engaged in the provision of community services related to water in their
territorial scope.
Users must adapt their actions in relation to water use and protection to the provisions of water
planning.
When existing water use and exploitation authorizations are not compatible with the provisions of
water planning, they shall be reviewed in accordance with the procedure for granting Use and
Exploitation Authorizations regulated in these Regulations. The same shall apply to discharge
authorizations, which shall be reviewed by the National Environmental Authority, or the GAD or
accredited sectional agencies that have granted them.
Article 38 - Diversions - Diversions are understood to be the construction of infrastructure to

transport water between different territorial areas of the Integrated Water Resources Management
Plans by river basin with Hydrographic Demarcation scope.
The construction of water diversions may be authorized by the Water Secretariat provided that the
diversion is provided for in the National Water Resources Plan and does not jeopardize the supply of
water for human consumption and irrigation for food sovereignty in the demarcation of origin.
The technical, economic, social and environmental justification of the water transfer project will be
incorporated into the project, framed within the framework established by the national planning
authority. In any case, the project will be subject to the environmental evaluation and licensing
process and its implementation will be coordinated with the Autonomous Decentralized Governments
involved in the project.
Once the transfer has been authorized, the authorization for the use of water or for the productive
exploitation of water shall be granted by the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority where the transfer
is to take place.
the specific use of the land. For these purposes, the procedure regulated in these Regulations for the
granting of authorizations shall be applied.
TITLE FIVE
COMMUNITY WATER MANAGEMENT
Article 39 - Integrated provision of public services for the supply of water for human consumption and
irrigation - In accordance with the provisions of Article 54 of the Law, the services of water supply for
human consumption and irrigation may be managed in an integrated manner in those areas where
this form of management is advisable according to the parameters established by the Water
Secretariat. For this purpose, the Boards in charge of each of the services in said territorial area shall
request authorization from the Hydrographic District Authority, accompanied by an agreement signed
by all of them, which must state:
a) The technical and economic description of how the services will be provided;
b) The resolutions of the Boards of Directors stating their agreement with the provision and with the
aforementioned agreement;
c) The organizational forms to be adopted for the provision;
d) The hydraulic works, if any, to be carried out for the integrated provision, their budget and
completion period; and,
e) The economic impact it will have on the fees to be collected from the users of the services
provided by the Boards, as well as the impact on the provision of services to its members.
The Hydrographic District Authority shall adopt the appropriate decision, which shall notify the
applicant Boards, indicating, if the decision is positive, the date of commencement of the integration
of the services and such other details as may be necessary.
The authorization resolution of the Secretariat shall be incorporated into the Public Water Registry, in
the manner regulated for registrations in these Regulations.
In accordance with Article 45 of the Law, drinking water, sanitation and irrigation service providers will
be recognized as drinking water management boards and irrigation boards.
CHAPTER ONE
DRINKING WATER MANAGEMENT BOARDS
Article 40 - Definition of Boards and application of the human right to water - In accordance with the
provisions of Article 43 of the Law, the Drinking Water Management Boards are non-profit community
organizations whose purpose is to provide the public drinking water service and, where appropriate,
sanitation services. Their actions are based on criteria of economic efficiency, sustainability of the
water resource, quality in the provision of services and equity in the distribution of water.
When the Boards provide sanitation services, they will be called Potable Water and Sanitation
Management Boards (Juntas Administradoras de Agua Potable y Saneamiento).
The Boards must recognize and apply the human right to water in the manner regulated in the Law
and in these Regulations. In accordance with its nature as an economic and social right, the
application shall be based on the principle of progressiveness, for which purpose the Boards shall
formulate an Implementation Plan for which the Municipal Decentralized Autonomous Government in
whose jurisdiction the Board is located shall collaborate. The Plan shall be communicated to the
Water Secretariat.
Basic sanitation, as part of the human right to water, shall be adapted in its content to the hydrological
and geographical characteristics of the territory of the Board, without the construction of a sewerage
network being the only form of compliance.
The procedure for the creation of new Water Boards and the adaptation of the Bylaws of the existing
ones will be determined by the Water Secretariat in accordance with the Law.
Art. 41.- Functions of the Drinking Water Management Boards: The Drinking Water Management
Boards shall be responsible for the following:
a) To conserve, maintain, rehabilitate and operate the infrastructures for the provision of the
corresponding services;
b) To build and finance new infrastructures, being able to obtain the appropriate economic aid for this
purpose, subject to the respective technical feasibility report to be issued by the Undersecretariat for
Drinking Water;
c) Participate with the Water Secretariat in the protection of the drinking water system's supply
sources, preventing their contamination;
d) Establish the rates for the rendering of the service, within the general criteria set forth in the Law,
these Regulations and the regulations issued for such purpose by ARCA, collect and administer the
proceeds of the collection for the performance of the services entrusted to them;
e) Approve the budgets for the operation of the services.
f) To resolve conflicts that may exist among its members. In the event that the conflict cannot be
resolved internally, it shall be submitted to the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or to the Head of
the Citizen Service Center, who shall decide on it when it is transferred and within the scope of its
competencies; and,
g) Participate in the Basin Councils in the manner indicated in these Regulations.
The Drinking Water Management Boards must send annually to the Hydrographic Demarcation
Authority or to the Head of the Citizen Service Center, which may also request, on their own initiative,
the information related to their management, without prejudice that the Water Regulation and Control
Agency may also request the sending of information related to its competences. This will include, at
least, information on the annual budget and its liquidation, the development of the hydraulic
infrastructures under construction and the forecast of the construction of new ones with their method
of financing, existing tariffs and financial statements. Likewise, information will be sent on the forms of
water management attributed to the System and on its sufficiency for the purposes of compliance with
the human right to water. Information on the composition of the governing bodies will be sent
periodically after the corresponding electoral processes have been held.
Art. 42.- Responsibility and rights of the users of community drinking water and sanitation services.-
The Water Regulation and Control Agency shall regulate the periodic control of the compliance of the
activities of the Drinking Water Management Boards, which shall be carried out in the manner
indicated in said regulations.
The rights of the consumers of community drinking water and sanitation services will be the same as
those received from the Municipal Decentralized Autonomous Governments or, by delegation of the
latter, from the Parochial Decentralized Autonomous Governments.
Art. 43.- Relations with the Municipal Decentralized Autonomous Government: The relations of the
Drinking Water Administration Boards with the corresponding Municipal Decentralized Autonomous
Government shall be based on the principles of coordination and transparency. The Boards may seek
technical and economic assistance from the Municipal Autonomous Decentralized Government for
the fulfillment of their competencies.
When the Municipal Autonomous Decentralized Government is able to implement the provision of
drinking water supply and sanitation services throughout the territory of its jurisdiction, it shall, in
coordination with the Water Secretariat:
a) Include the effective fulfillment of the exercise of the competencies in the provision of the service in
all the scope of its territorial jurisdiction in its cantonal planning;
b) Coordinate with the existing Boards that perform these functions, the service delivery model with
emphasis on public-community partnerships, prioritizing the optimization of the services provided by
the less efficient Boards.
Art. 44.- Conditions for participation of the popular and solidarity economy initiative or private
initiative: In relation to Article 6 of these Regulations, it shall be understood that the technical or
financial conditions for the administration of the public service do not exist when the Municipal
Decentralized Autonomous Government is unable to supply drinking water, under conditions of
continuity and safety of the public service to all or part of its jurisdictional area.
In such cases, the State, through the Single Water Authority in defense of consumers' rights and
when there is no plan approved by the Municipal Decentralized Autonomous Government or
execution, will determine a term to reach the necessary quality parameters in the three sub-
processes already defined in this Regulation.
For the purpose of implementing the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Single Water
Authority shall issue instructions.
Art. 45.- Water Secretariat and other alliances.- When the Municipal Decentralized Autonomous
Government does not have the technical or financial conditions, it may request the following from the
Single Water Authority:
a) Formulate a plan to be executed in coordination in relation to several cantons and thus achieve the
best possible economy of scale in the provision of the sub-processes, especially this action may be
carried out in relation to the wastewater treatment sub-process; or,
b) Issue the guidelines as well as the mechanism to be used by the requesting GAD for the
association with a company of the popular and solidarity economy or a private company to improve
the economy in the provision of the subprocesses.
The development of the subprocesses for their execution by the part of the popular and solidarity
economy initiative or the private one, will have a term of 10 years as from the delivery of the final
audit report. The audit will be requested by the Single Water Authority.
Art. 46.- Loss of competence: In the event that the Municipal Decentralized Autonomous Government
fails to act within the term established in the plans approved and submitted to the Single Water
Authority, the Single Water Authority shall resort to the National Council of Competencies to decide
on the loss of competence by the corresponding Municipal Government and the State assumes it
through the Secretariat of Water, which may carry out the following actions:
a) Coordinate with other canton(s) and achieve better economy for the realization of the sub-process.
Especially this action may be carried out in relation to the wastewater treatment sub-process; o,
b) To develop the competency on its own or in partnership with a popular and solidarity economy or
private sector company in a specific sub-process.
Art. 47.- Improvement of service.- The Water Regulation and Control Agency shall issue regulations
containing the quality criteria for the provision of service by the Drinking Water Management Boards
and shall verify the adequacy of the services to such regulations.
In case of non-compliance with the technical standards, including the aforementioned regulations, the
Agency will notify the corresponding Board to formulate an improvement plan within a period of time
to be set by the Agency.
the Agency and submit it to the Water Secretariat for approval. The approval will also establish the
deadlines for the implementation of the improvement plan.
The Autonomous Decentralized Municipal Governments will collaborate technically and economically
in the implementation of the improvement plans of the Water Administration Boards of their
jurisdiction.
The Water Regulation and Control Agency will periodically evaluate the implementation of the
Improvement Plan. In the event of noncompliance, it will notify the Municipal Decentralized
Autonomous Government so that the latter, or through its delegation the corresponding Parochial
Decentralized Autonomous Government, may intervene in the Administrative Board until the
improvement plan is complied with.
The intervention will entail the temporary replacement of the President and the Board of Directors of
the Board, by the persons appointed by the Municipal or Parochial Decentralized Autonomous
Government, as the case may be. These will supervise the performance of the personnel linked to the
provision of the service. Likewise, the tariff regime and the administration of tariff collection may be
modified, all within the terms of the Law, these Regulations and ARCA regulations. The intervention
shall last until the objectives of the improvement plan are met.
The appointed auditor may, in the event that the provision of the service cannot be carried out
efficiently, after the term granted for the implementation of the improvement plan has expired, request
the Water Secretariat to revoke the authorization for the use and exploitation of water, without this
implying the suspension of the provision of the service, for which reason it must be foreseen that the
holder of the authority will assume it. Upon losing the nature of the existence of the Water
Administration Board, the intervenor may request the extinction of the legal personality and its
subsequent liquidation.
CHAPTER TWO
IRRIGATION BOARDS
Article 48 - Definition - The Irrigation Boards are non-profit community organizations whose purpose
is to provide irrigation and drainage services, as the case may be, under criteria of economic
efficiency, quality in the provision of the service and equity in the distribution of water.
The procedure for the creation of new Water Boards and the adaptation of the Bylaws of the existing
ones will be determined by the Water Secretariat.
Article 49 - Functions of the Irrigation Boards - The Irrigation Boards are responsible for the following:
a) Manage the System's infrastructure, whether it is the Board's own or ceded to it by the State
through the different levels of government;
b) To negotiate with the different levels of government or directly, the construction of new
infrastructure, with the possibility of obtaining financial assistance for this purpose. For this purpose,
the respective technical feasibility report issued by the Undersecretariat of Irrigation must be
submitted;
c) To carry out the equitable distribution of the water allocated to it among the members of the
system according to the instructions of the Single Water Authority;
d) Resolve conflicts that may exist among its members. In the event that the conflict cannot be
resolved, they shall appeal to the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the Head of the Citizen
Service Center;
e) Establish the rates for the rendering of the service, within the general criteria set forth in the Law,
these Regulations and the regulations issued for such purpose by ARCA, collect and administer the
proceeds of the collection for the performance of the services entrusted to them;
f) Impose the corresponding penalties on users for the administrative infractions they may commit,
which will be established in their Bylaws or Ordinances in accordance with the system
The general provisions of the Law and these Regulations;
g) Collaborate with the Water Secretariat in the protection of the irrigation system's water supply
sources by preventing their contamination;
h) Participate in the Basin Councils in the manner indicated by these Regulations; and,
i) All others contained in these Regulations.
The Irrigation Boards must send annually to the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or to the Head of
the Citizen Service Center, which may also request, on their own initiative, information on their
management, without prejudice that the Water Regulation and Control Agency may also request the
sending of information related to its competences. This will include, at least, information on the annual
budget and its liquidation, the development of the hydraulic infrastructures under construction and the
forecast of the construction of new ones with their method of financing, existing tariffs and financial
statements. Information will also be sent on the forms of water management attributed to the System.
Information on the composition of the governing bodies will be sent periodically after the
corresponding electoral processes have been held.
Art. 50.- Relations with the Water Secretariat and the Autonomous Decentralized Provincial
Government: The relations of the Irrigation Boards with the Single Water Authority and the
corresponding Autonomous Decentralized Provincial Government shall be based on the principles of
coordination and transparency. The signing of an agreement between the Autonomous Government
and the Boards shall be encouraged to regulate their relations, especially with regard to the irrigation
systems management model.
The Boards may seek technical and economic assistance from the Autonomous Decentralized
Provincial Government for the fulfillment of their competencies.
Art. 51.- Improvement of service: The Water Regulation and Control Agency shall issue regulations
containing the quality criteria for the provision of service by the Irrigation Boards and shall verify the
adequacy of the services to such regulations.
In case of non-compliance with the technical standards, including the aforementioned regulations, the
Agency will notify the corresponding Board to formulate an improvement plan within a term to be set
by the Agency and submit it to the Water Secretariat for approval. The approval will also set the
deadlines for the implementation of the improvement plan.
The Autonomous Decentralized Provincial Governments will collaborate technically and economically
in the implementation of the improvement plans of the Irrigation Boards in their jurisdiction.
The Water Regulation and Control Agency will periodically evaluate the implementation of the
improvement plan. In case of noncompliance, it will communicate it to the Autonomous Decentralized
Provincial Government so that it may intervene the Irrigation Board until the improvement plan is
complied with.
The intervention will entail the temporary replacement of the President and the Board of Directors of
the Board by the persons appointed by the Autonomous Decentralized Provincial Government. These
will supervise the performance of the personnel linked to the provision of the service. Likewise, the
tariff regime and the administration of tariff collection may be modified, all within the framework of the
provisions of the Law, these Regulations and ARCA's regulations. The intervention shall last until the
objectives of the improvement plan are met.
The appointed auditor may, in the event that the service cannot be provided efficiently, after the term
granted for the implementation of the improvement plan has expired, request the Secretary of Water
to revoke the authorization for the use and exploitation of water, without this implying the suspension
of the provision of the service, for which reason it must be provided that the holder of the authority will
assume it. Upon losing the nature of the existence of the Water Administration Board, the intervenor
may request the extinction of the legal personality and its subsequent liquidation.
CHAPTER THREE
OTHER ORGANIZATIONAL FORMS
Article 52 - Customary law - In accordance with the provisions of Article 52 of the Law, the customary
practices in force for the access, use and distribution of water by communes, communities, peoples,
nationalities and collectives, constitute mandatory practice for their members.
For the purposes of general knowledge of these practices, the representatives of the communes,
communities, peoples, nationalities and collectives must send, within a period of one year from the
entry into force of the Regulation, sufficient details of the same to the corresponding Hydrographic
Demarcation Authority or the person in charge of the corresponding Citizen Service Center, who will
include it in the Public Water Register. Failure to comply with this requirement will determine that the
practice which, in theory, could have existed in the above-mentioned communities cannot be
considered as existing customary practice.
The bodies and agencies of the Water Secretariat shall observe customary practices once they have
been communicated and registered.
In no case may such practices limit free access to water for consumption and domestic use under the
terms established in these Regulations, nor may they oppose the efficient use of water or good
environmental practices. The Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the person in charge of the
corresponding Citizen Service Center shall not register any customary practice that opposes the
provisions of this paragraph.
SECOND BOOK
PUBLIC WATER DOMAIN
TITLE ONE: THE PUBLIC WATER DOMAIN CHAPTER ONE:
EXTENSION, TYPES AND DEFINITIONS
Article 53 - Classes of assets within the public water domain - The public water domain is composed
of natural elements, which are those corresponding to assets provided by nature without human
intervention, and of artificial elements, which are those resulting from human action that modifies
nature by means of hydraulic works or infrastructures.
Article 54 - Natural and artificial public water domain - Pursuant to Article 10 of the Law, the public
water domain is made up of the following natural elements:
a) Surface waters, understood as those formed by rivers, lakes, lagoons, wetlands, snow-capped
mountains, glaciers and natural waterfalls;
b) Groundwater;
c) Aquifers, for the purposes of protection and disposal of the water resources they contain;
d) Water sources, understood as the headwaters of rivers and their tributaries, springs or natural
sources from which groundwater springs to the surface, or those collected at the beginning of runoff.
e) The alveos or natural riverbeds;
f) The beds and subsoil of rivers, lakes, lagoons and surface reservoirs in natural watercourses;
g) The banks;
h) The geomorphological conformation of river basins and their mouths;
i) Coastal marine wetlands and coastal waters; and
j) Water from seawater desalination.
Publicly-owned water works or infrastructure and their hydraulic protection zones are
considered an integral part of the public water domain. These works are those listed in Article 11 of
the Law.
Article 55 - Hydraulic Protection Zones - Hydraulic works for water transport shall have a hydraulic
protection zone, which shall be considered part of the public water domain in the case of publicly
owned works.
The purpose to be fulfilled by the Hydraulic Protection Zones are:
a) Facilitate access to the site for maintenance and repair work;

b) To serve as a defense mechanism for the hydraulic work against possible acts, voluntary or
involuntary, that may disturb its functionality; and,
c) The one that can be considered specific according to the type of hydraulic work.
The hydraulic works construction projects will define the extension of the hydraulic protection zone in
accordance with the technical criteria issued for such purpose by the Single Water Authority. The
extension of the zone in the project will serve for the purposes of the purchase or expropriation of the
land where the work is to be constructed.
In the case of reservoirs, there must, in principle, be a hydraulic protection zone, unless the
construction project, taking into account the purpose to be fulfilled by the hydraulic protection zones
as indicated in this article, does not consider it necessary.
Hydraulic Protection Zones are independent of the existence of easements imposed for the protection
of public aqueducts as authorized by Article 98 of the Law.
The Single Water Authority will issue the technical regulations for the delimitation of natural
watercourses, riverbanks, margins of river beds, lakes, lagoons and reservoirs, flood zones and
hydraulic protection zones.
Article 56 - Ownership of hydraulic works - In accordance with Article 11 of the Law, hydraulic works
or infrastructures may be owned by the public, private or community depending on who has built and
financed them, although in all cases their use is in the public interest and they are governed by the
Law and these Regulations.
When more than one entity has participated in the construction and financing of a hydraulic work, in
order to determine its ownership, the agreement or pact that determined the co-financing of its
construction must be taken into account. In the absence of such agreement, it will be determined that
the ownership belongs to the entity that has financed the greater part of the work. In any case, it will
be possible to transfer the ownership of the work to the party that is to manage it, in accordance with
the terms of the corresponding transfer agreement.
Article 57 - Alveos and natural watercourses - The natural watercourses of a continuous or

discontinuous stream are called alveos. Their extension shall be determined by the land covered by
the waters at the maximum ordinary floods, such land being part of the public water domain.
It is up to the Water Secretariat, through the corresponding Hydrographic Demarcation Authorities or

the Technical Manager of the corresponding Citizen Service Center, to determine this extension. For
this purpose, the available hydrological information will be used, as well as any photographic
information and verifiable historical references. The determination of the riverbed will be made by
means of an administrative procedure in which the public or private owners of the neighboring lands
must be given a hearing for a period of fifteen days. The Hydrographic Demarcation or the
corresponding Citizen Attention Center will issue the corresponding resolution and will inform the
Decentralized Autonomous Governments so that they take it into account in their land-use planning
policy. The resolution will be notified to the owners of the neighboring lands and will be subject to the
appeals established in the Statute of the
Legal and Administrative Regime of the Executive Function (ERJAFE).
The legal situations derived from natural modifications of watercourses shall be regulated by civil
legislation.
Modifications to watercourses resulting from the execution of legally authorized works shall be
governed by the contents of the corresponding authorization and the hydrogeological study
incorporated as part of the authorization request.
In the event that urgent protection works have to be carried out on the banks of watercourses, the
owners who have built them shall be liable for any damage that may result to the public water
domain.
Article 58 - Banks: The banks are the natural strips of the banks or natural watercourses located
above the low water level. The banks are part of the public water domain. The land bordering the
watercourses is called banks. The Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the Technical Responsible
of the corresponding Citizen Service Center, by means of an administrative procedure, will establish
the extension of the banks of the riverbanks, with the corresponding technical documentation and in
which the owners of the land that may be affected will be given a hearing for fifteen days so that they
can present allegations.
Once the allegations have been examined, the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the Head of
the Citizen Service Center will issue the corresponding resolution and send it to the Decentralized
Autonomous Governments so that they take it into account in their land-use planning policy. The
resolution will be notified to the owners of the neighboring lands and will be subject to the appeals
established in the Statute of the Legal and Administrative Regime of the Executive Function
(ERJAFE).
Article 59 - Beds of lakes, lagoons and reservoirs - The bed or bottom of lakes and lagoons is the
land occupied by their waters at the times when they reach their highest ordinary level.
The bed or bottom of a surface reservoir is the land covered by the waters when they reach their
highest level as a result of the maximum ordinary floods of the rivers or streams that feed it.
The Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the Technical Responsible of the corresponding Citizen
Service Center, shall fix the extension of the margins of the beds of lakes, lagoons and reservoirs. In
the latter case, the provisions of the corresponding technical project shall be taken into account.
The procedure will be initiated by the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the Technical
Responsible of the corresponding Citizen Service Center, and the owners of the land that may be
affected will be given a hearing for a period of fifteen days so that they may present their allegations.
Once the allegations have been examined, the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the Technical
Responsible of the corresponding Citizen Service Center will issue the pertinent resolution and send it
to the Decentralized Autonomous Governments so that they take it into account in their land use
planning policy. The resolution will be notified to the owners of the neighboring lands and will be
subject to the appeals established in the Statute of the Legal and Administrative Regime of the
Executive Function (ERJAFE).
Article 60 - Floodable areas - These are the lands that may be flooded during non-ordinary floods of
lakes, lagoons, reservoirs and rivers. These lands shall retain their legal nature. Their ownership shall
not be affected by the delimitation of such zones.
The Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the Technical Responsible of the Center will be in charge
of
The delimitation of flood zones will be carried out with the help of geomorphological, hydrological and
hydraulic studies, as well as series of historical floods and documents or historical evidence of the
same. It will graduate its extension in function of the flood district levels according to time periods for
which there is sufficient information and technical documentation.
The conclusions derived from the aforementioned studies and the decisions on the determination and
delimitation of flood zones will be forwarded to the Decentralized Autonomous Governments so that
they may take them into account in their land-use planning policies. The plans, if any, approved by
the Decentralized Autonomous Governments and in which flood zones are included, will be forwarded
to the Water Secretariat for its knowledge. Likewise, the Decentralized Autonomous Governments
shall inform the Water Secretariat of the land occupation authorizations granted and which take place
in the delimited flood zones.
CHAPTER TWO
PROTECTION OF THE PUBLIC WATER DOMAIN
Article 61 - Forms of protection of the public water domain - Public use easements, water protection
zones and restriction zones constitute forms of protection of the public water domain and, in
particular, of water sources.
The Single Water Authority will issue the technical criteria for the delimitation of public use
easements, restriction zones and water protection zones, the latter in coordination with the
Environmental Authority.
National.
Section One: Easements for public use
Article 62 - Easement for public use: extent and purpose: The land bordering watercourses is subject
to an easement zone for public use along its entire length. The extension of the easement zone shall
be five meters, which may vary, more or less, for topographic or hydrographic reasons or for the
specific needs of granting authorizations for the use of water or the productive exploitation of water.
In these cases, an administrative procedure will be carried out by the Hydrographic Demarcation
Authority or the Technical Manager of the corresponding Citizen Service Center, acting ex officio or at
the request of a legitimate party. In the same, the owners of the land affected by the extension and
the holder of the authorization will be heard if the need for extension derives from the content of the
authorization and it is he who has requested it.
With all the existing information and after assessing the allegations presented, if applicable, the
Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the Technical Responsible of the corresponding Citizen
Service Center, will issue the respective resolution.
The administrative procedure shall have a maximum duration of three months. Failure to respond
within that time in procedures initiated at the request of a party shall be understood as unfavorable to
the request submitted. If the procedure is initiated ex officio, it shall expire upon expiration of said
period.
If it is decided to extend the easement zone, it will be determined on the compensation to be received
by the owner of the land that in the case of modification due to the granting of an authorization, must
be paid by the holder of the authorization and if the extension is derived from technical reasons, the
Secretariat of Water will compensate the affected owners.
The purposes to be fulfilled through the public use easement are the following:
a) Protection of the fluvial ecosystem and the public water domain;
b) Public crosswalk and for the development of surveillance, conservation and rescue services.
c) Launching and mooring of vessels on an occasional basis and in case of need; and
d) Guarantee access to persons in charge of the operation, maintenance or control of the
infrastructure or the surrounding natural area.
The public use easement regulated in this article shall also apply to surface reservoirs and to the
same extent.
Section Two: Water protection areas
Article 63 - Water Protection Zones: Definition and Functionality - In accordance with the provisions
of article 13 of the Law, a water protection zone is established for the protection of the waters flowing
through the watercourses and the associated ecosystems, as well as the water collected in surface
reservoirs. The use of the land and the activities carried out therein will be conditioned in this zone.
The purposes to be fulfilled by the water protection zones are:
a) The preservation of the state of the public water domain and the prevention of the deterioration of
the associated ecosystems by contributing to their improvement; and,
b) The protection of the flow regime in floods, favoring the role of the land adjacent to the channels in
the lamination of flows and the solid load transported.
Article 64 - Water Protection Zones: Extension and Modification - The water protection zone shall
have an extension of 100 meters in width measured horizontally from the riverbed or from the
maximum ordinary extension of the sheet of water in surface reservoirs, which may vary for
topographic, hydrographic or other reasons determined by the Single Water Authority in coordination
with the National Environmental Authority. The indicated extension may be modified in the following
circumstances:
a) In areas near the mouth of watercourses in the sea;

b) In the immediate surroundings of reservoirs; and,
c) When the topographic or hydrographic conditions of the riverbeds and banks make it necessary for
the safety of people and property.
The modification will require the practice of an administrative procedure that will be initiated by the
Service Center, ex officio or at the request of a legitimate party. The technical documentation that
served as the basis for the ex officio initiation of the procedure or that provided by the applicant shall
be included in the file and the owners of the affected lands and the Decentralized Autonomous
Governments of the corresponding area shall be given a hearing for a period of fifteen days. The
resolution will be issued by the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the Technical Responsible of
the corresponding Citizen Service Center.
The procedure will have a maximum duration of three months. When it has been initiated at the
request of a legitimate party, the lack of a resolution within said period shall be understood as
unfavorable to the request made, and if it is an ex officio opening, the administrative procedure shall
expire.
Article 65 - Water Protection Zones: Legal Regime - Water protection zones shall be subject to the
provisions of this Article:
a) Substantial alterations to the natural relief of the land;

b) Aggregate extraction;
c) Constructions of all types, whether definitive or provisional; and,
d) Any other use or activity that would be an obstacle to the flow in flood regime or that could cause
degradation or deterioration of the state of the public water domain or associated ecosystems.
The execution of any of the works indicated will require prior authorization from the Hydrographic
Demarcation Authority or the Technical Manager of the corresponding Citizen Service Center, at the
request of the interested party, without prejudice to any other authorizations that may be necessary to
obtain according to the applicable legal system in each case.
The granting of the authorization will be the object of an administrative procedure initiated by the
Service Center, at the request of a legitimate party who will formulate it accompanied by the technical
documentation related to the activity to be developed. In the course of the procedure, the owners of
the affected lands will be given a hearing for fifteen days so that they may make allegations and the
Decentralized Autonomous Governments to issue a report on the request for authorization. The
absence of a response from the Decentralized Autonomous Governments within this period will be
understood as favorable to the request.
After the procedure has been carried out, the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the Technical
Responsible of the corresponding Citizen Service Center will issue the respective resolution.
The reports issued by the owners of the land or the Autonomous Decentralized Governments will not
be binding for the Authority's decision.
The procedure may not last more than three months. Once this period has elapsed without a
response from the Authority, the application shall be understood to have been rejected by
administrative silence.
Section Three: Restriction Zones
Article 66 - Restriction Zones: Establishment and Purposes.- Pursuant to the provisions of Article 13
of the Law, the surfaces of aquifers may be declared in whole or in part as a restriction zone for the
purpose of not granting new authorizations for the use of groundwater therein and to subject the
activities carried out on such land to the legal regime provided for in this section. The declaration as a
restriction zone may refer to both objects or to only one of them.
The purposes of declaring a zone as a restriction zone shall be some or all of the following:
a) The protection of groundwater found in the aquifer in order to avoid possible contamination;
b) Maintaining or even improving the recharge possibilities of the corresponding aquifer;
c) The defense of current uses to which groundwater is susceptible, especially in the case of water
intended for human consumption; and,
d) Where appropriate, the protection of water that may flow naturally from these aquifers.
The declaration of the restriction zone will be made by the corresponding Hydrographic Demarcation
Authority or the Technical Manager of the corresponding Citizen Service Center, following a
procedure in which the owners of the affected lands will be given a hearing for a period of fifteen days
so that they may, if they so wish, make allegations. Likewise, the initiative will be communicated to
the Decentralized Autonomous Governments in whose territorial area the planned restriction zone is
located so that they may issue a report within the same fifteen-day period.
Failure to issue a report within this term by the Autonomous Decentralized Governments will be
considered as favorable to the declaration of the restriction zone. The report issued will not have
binding in relation to the Authority's decision.
After the procedure has been carried out and the allegations and reports submitted have been
evaluated, if applicable, the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the Technical Responsible of the
corresponding Citizen Service Center will issue the respective resolution.
In the event that the planned restriction zone extends over more than one River Basin District, it will
be processed and resolved by the Water Secretariat through the corresponding Technical
Administrative Unit and by means of an administrative procedure based on the same principles
established in the preceding paragraphs.
Article 67 - Restriction Zone: Legal Regime: In restriction zones and if so provided, no new
authorizations for the use of groundwaters may be granted during the time specified in the declaration
or until such time as the latter is modified. Where appropriate, the declaration may be limited to
prohibiting the granting of authorizations exceeding a certain flow or volume, or may refer to certain
specific uses of the water.
The following activities shall be subject to authorization in the restriction zones:

c) Constructions of all types, whether definitive or provisional; and,
d) Any other use or activity that is likely to cause degradation or deterioration of groundwater status
or associated ecosystems.
The authorization does not exempt from obtaining any other authorizations that may be required to
carry out the activity in accordance with the applicable legal system.
In the administrative procedure to be carried out by the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the
Technical Responsible of the corresponding Citizen Service Center, after the formulation of the
request by the person wishing to carry out the activity, the affected land owners and the
Decentralized Autonomous Governments with jurisdiction in that place will be given a hearing with the
respective administrative procedure, all for a period of fifteen days so that they may present
allegations if they so wish. The absence of a response within this period shall be interpreted as
favorable to the granting of the authorization for the activity to be carried out. The reports issued will
not be binding in relation to the decision of the Authority.
The Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the Technical Responsible of the corresponding Citizen
Service Center will issue the respective resolution.
The administrative procedure shall have a maximum duration of three months and the absence of a
response within this period shall be understood as unfavorable to the authorization request submitted.
CHAPTER THREE
PROTECTION OF WATER SOURCES
Article 68 - Delimitation of water sources: The Water Secretariat, through the Hydrographic
Demarcation Authorities, shall carry out a systematic program for the delimitation of water sources, for
which purpose there shall be an appropriate economic item in the annual budgets until such program
is completed. The amount of the tariffs established in application of the provisions of Article 137 of the
Law shall be linked to the financing of this program.
The program will contain a temporary forecast of actions that will be coordinated with the contents of
the River Basin Water Resources Management Plans at the River Basin District level.
For the purposes of delimiting water sources, the Water Secretariat will determine the
corresponding procedure.
Art. 69.- Legal regime of the area delimited as a water source.- The lands delimited as a water
source shall be considered, if they are not already, of public water domain in accordance with the
criteria indicated in Article 10, paragraph d) of the Law.
When the delimitation affects land that at that time is privately owned, appropriate compensation must
be made to the owner. All this if the occupation of the land by the private party has been legitimate.
Otherwise, there will be no right to any type of compensation.
The Water Secretariat, in coordination with the National Environmental Authority, will issue the
guidelines for the elaboration of a water source sustainability program, the absence of compliance
with a water source sustainability program by the Decentralized Autonomous Governments will be
considered as an administrative infraction.
The program will also include sustainability actions in relation to the area of influence of the water
source.
Art. 70.- Legal regime of the areas of influence of water sources.- The resolution shall also determine
an area of influence of the water source in which the uses and activities that may be carried out
therein shall be conditioned.
The owners of the properties on which there are delimited water sources in relation to which areas of
influence have also been determined, as well as the water users, shall be obliged to comply with the
technical regulations established by the Water Regulation and Control Agency in coordination with
the National Environmental Authority for the conservation and protection of water at the source, in
compliance with the legal system.
In any case, the following activities intended to be carried out in the area of influence shall be subject
to prior authorization from the corresponding Hydrographic Demarcation Authority:

c) Substantial changes in crop or crop regime;
d) Constructions of all types, whether definitive or provisional; and,
e) Any other use or activity that is likely to cause degradation or deterioration of the status of water
sources.
In the administrative procedure initiated before the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority, the
formulation of the corresponding request will be submitted by those who wish to carry out these
activities. The holders of the affected lands and the Decentralized Autonomous Governments with
jurisdiction in that place will be given a hearing, all for a period of fifteen days so that they may
present allegations if they so wish. The absence of a response within this period will be interpreted as
favorable to the granting of authorization for the activity to be carried out. The reports issued will not
be binding in relation to the decision of the Authority.
The Hydrographic Demarcation Authority shall issue the respective resolution.
The administrative procedure shall have a maximum duration of three months and the absence of a
response during this period shall be understood as a rejection of the application submitted.
The authorization will be independent of any others that may be required by the applicable legal
system.
Art. 71.- Definition and procedure for the declaration of water protection areas.- In addition to
protection for water sources deduced from their delimitation together with their area of influence and
the consequent legal regime established in Articles 74 and 75 of these Regulations, in accordance
with the provisions of Article 78 of the Law, and when necessary because the measures contained in
said articles are not sufficient, water protection areas may be declared in the case of water sources
declared to be of public interest by the Secretariat of Water.
This will be done for the protection, conservation and maintenance of water sources that supply
human consumption or guarantee food sovereignty.
The Hydrographic Demarcation Authority shall be responsible for the establishment of water
protection areas which, in accordance with the provisions of Article 78 of the Law, may in no case
refer to wetlands, forests and protective vegetation.
The administrative procedure will be carried out by the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority, which
will begin with a provisional delimitation of the water protection area, incorporating the technical
studies it has carried out on the matter.
The Hydrographic Demarcation Authority shall transfer to the National Environmental Authority the
provisional delimitation of the water protection area and request the technical report provided for in
Article 78 of the Law. It shall also request a report from the Decentralized Autonomous Governments
of the corresponding territorial area. In the same way, the practice of the procedure with the existing
provisional delimitation will be made public so that the owners of the affected lands may make
allegations. All of the above within a period of thirty days.
Once the reports and allegations have been received, the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority will
examine them and within thirty days will issue the resolution with the definitive delimitation of the
area.
The regime for water protection areas shall be established in the proposed resolution and in addition
to the measures provided for in these Regulations for water sources and their zones of influence. It
may extend to the prohibition or limitation of land uses that are considered incompatible with the
water protection area given the service to human consumption or the guarantee of food sovereignty.
In any case, the regime shall respect the spiritual uses of peoples and nationalities.
Likewise, the existence of water protection areas may be provided for the protection of riverbanks,
river beds, lakes, lagoons, reservoirs, estuaries and phreatic mantles, when the measures
established in the regulation of water protection zones provided for in these Regulations are not
sufficient. The administrative procedure to be followed in this case shall be the same as that provided
for in this article for establishing water protection areas for water sources.
The administrative procedures regulated in this article shall have a maximum duration of three
months, after which time they shall be understood to have expired without a definitive resolution.
CHAPTER FOUR: EASEMENTS
Section One: General Principles.
Article 72 - Authorization for occupation of land and establishment of easements - In accordance with
the provisions of Article 98 of the Law, the Hydrographic Demarcation Authorities or the Technical
Manager of the corresponding Citizen Service Center shall authorize the occupation of land
necessary for the execution of hydraulic works. When the occupation is temporary, it shall be subject
to the corresponding compensation, and the occupation shall cease when the construction work has
been completed.
If the occupation must be permanent because it is linked to the efficiency of the hydraulic works
already executed, the procedure contemplated in the regulations in force must be followed.
with respect to the declaration of public utility.
Article 73 - Natural or legal easement of natural circulation of water: The lower properties are subject
to receive the waters that naturally and without human action descend from the upper properties, as
well as the earth or stone that they carry in their course. Neither the owner of the lower property may
carry out works that prevent this easement nor the owner of the upper property may carry out works
that aggravate it.
If the water is the product of water supply or surplus from other uses that have artificially altered its
natural quality, the owner of the lower property may oppose its reception, with the right to demand
compensation for damages from the person who has altered it.
Art. 74.- Rights and obligations of the owner of the servient estate.- In addition to the provisions of
Article 98 of the Law, the owner of the servient estate is entitled to have the corresponding
Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the Technical Manager of the Citizen Service Center order
the remediation of leaks, spills or any other damage attributed to defects in construction,
conservation, operation and preservation of damages. The holder of the easement shall comply with
the Authority's provisions. In case of urgency and due to the non-compliance of the obligor, the
Authority may order the execution of the necessary works by itself, passing the costs on to the holder
of the easement.
The foregoing shall be understood to be without prejudice to the right of the owner of the property on
which an easement is intended to be constituted to appeal before the highest authority of the
Secretary of Water or its delegate, a procedure that shall be carried out in a summary manner, after
hearing the appeal, a trial hearing shall be convened where both parties shall be heard and any type
of evidence they believe they are entitled to shall be presented; The highest authority or its delegate
shall issue a reasoned resolution within seventy-two hours after the hearing has been held.
Article 75 - Extinction of easements and effects of the declaration of extinction - Easements are
extinguished for the causes regulated in Article 102 of the Law, without prejudice to the provisions of
these Regulations for the aqueduct easement and taking into account the criteria for the application of
the regulations of this section indicated in these Regulations.
In the cases referred to in paragraphs a), b) and d) of Article 102 of the Law, before the resolution
declaring the extinction of the easement is issued by the Demarcation Authority or the Technical
Responsible of the corresponding Citizen Service Center, an administrative procedure shall be
carried out in which the interested parties shall be heard for a period of fifteen days so that they may
present their allegations.
After examining the allegations presented, if applicable, to the Hydrographic Demarcation Authorities
or the Technical Responsible of the Citizen Service Center, the corresponding resolution will be
issued.
Once the extinction of the easement has been declared, the property affected by the easement will
revert to the ownership and exclusive use of the servient estate.
Section Two: On the aqueduct easement.
Article 76 - Definition and general principles of the legal regime of the aqueduct easement - The
aqueduct easement is a compulsory easement that may be established by the corresponding
Service Center, at the request of the person who requires it and through the administrative procedure,
which shall also be determined at the entrance and exit of subway aqueducts, tunnels or tunnels.
The establishment of an aqueduct easement is granted to the owner of a property or to anyone who
The owner of the property who wishes to make use of the water available for the same or to evacuate
the surplus thereof, has the right to have it pass through the intervening properties, with the obligation
to indemnify their owners and the owners of the lower properties on which the water seeps or falls.
Aqueduct easements may be imposed for reasons of both public and private interest.
The following are sufficient reasons of private interest for the establishment of the easement:
a) Destination of water for human consumption, irrigation for food sovereignty, productive activities
and disposal of excess or waste water;
b) Evacuation of water from artificial springs, runoff and drainage; and,
c) Drainage of marshlands for sanitary reasons.
The aqueduct easement may not be imposed for reasons of private interest on buildings, their
courtyards or outbuildings, or on existing gardens or orchards.
The legal regime of the aqueduct easement shall be that established in these Regulations.
Article 77 - Administrative procedure for the constitution of the easement: initiation.
When the aqueduct easement has not been established during the processing and granting of the
authorization for water use or productive use of water, the administrative procedure established in the
following paragraphs shall be carried out.
The procedure for the constitution of the aqueduct easement will be initiated by request addressed by
the interested party to the Hydrographic Demarcation or the Technical Manager of the corresponding
Citizen Service Center. The request must be accompanied by the technical file of the project
describing the topography of the land and the works to be carried out, delimiting the location of the
aqueduct and the extension it will have on the different properties it will have to cross.
The Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the Technical Manager of the corresponding Citizen
Service Center will qualify the request within three days and will open the administrative procedure by
notifying the owners of the affected land of the request submitted, making available to them the plans
describing the location of the aqueduct and will grant them a period of fifteen days to present the
allegations they deem appropriate.
The owners of the affected land may object on the following grounds:
a) If the person requesting the easement does not prove the legitimate availability of the water;
b) Because the easement can be established on other properties with equal advantages for the one
who intends to impose it and less inconvenience for the one who has to suffer it; and,
c) For any other reason that, with sufficient motivation, is made known to the competent authority.
In the event of opposition, the same procedure established for oppositions in cases of authorization
and use shall be followed. In the case of establishment, the layout and methods of establishment
shall be specified in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.
It will also establish the duration of the easement and the obligation of the future holder of the
easement to respond for any damage that may be caused by it. The resolution will be issued by the
Service Center.
The administrative procedure will have a maximum duration of three months and the lack of response
within three months.
The application shall be considered unfavorable to the application submitted within that period.
The resolution establishing an easement must be registered in the Public Water Registry.
Article 78 - Modes of constitution of the aqueduct easement - The aqueduct easement shall be
constituted in one of the following ways:
a) With covered ditch or conduit when required due to its depth, proximity to buildings or roads or any
other reason related to safety and the need to preserve water quality;
b) With an open ditch or conduction if this has been requested and it is not necessary to do so with a
covered ditch for the reasons indicated in the previous paragraph; and,
c) With impermeable piping or conduction when other waters may be absorbed, when the conducted
waters may contaminate others or absorb harmful substances, or cause damage to works or buildings
and whenever, apart from other causes, it is necessary according to the procedure practiced; and,
d) In the manner technically considered to be the most appropriate.
Article 79 - Rights and obligations of the holder of the easement - The holder of the easement shall
pay the owners of the servient lands the compensation established.
The holder of the aqueduct easement is responsible for carrying out all the works necessary for its
construction, conservation and cleaning. For these purposes, he will be authorized to temporarily
occupy the land essential for the deposit of materials, which occupation will also be subject to the
corresponding compensation.
If the aqueduct crosses public or private roads, of whatever nature, the owner shall be obliged to
construct and maintain the necessary culverts and bridges, and if it has to cross other aqueducts, it
shall proceed in such a way as not to delay or accelerate the course of the waters or diminish their
flow or adulterate their quality.
The owner of the aqueduct must consolidate its banks with lawns, stakes, walls, loose stone banks or
other technically possible.
Art. 80.- Rights of the owner of the servient estate.- The owner of the servient estate may close and
fence the aqueduct, as well as build on it as long as this does not impede its functionality. When this
possibility does not appear in the authorization for the constitution of the easement, he shall request
authorization for it from the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the Technical Responsible of the
corresponding Citizen Service Center, who, after the pertinent studies, shall issue the resolution.
It may also use the water conveyed by the aqueduct under the conditions indicated in Article 98 of the
Law.
Article 81 - Extinction of the aqueduct easement and effects thereof - The aqueduct easement may
be extinguished:
a) By consolidation, when the ownership of the dominant and servient estates are joined in a single
person;
b) Due to expiration of the term established at the time of granting;
c) By compulsory expropriation;
d) By resignation of the owner of the dominant property;
e) For loss of the right to water disposal; and
f) For the causes of extinction of easements other than these and provided for in Article 102 of the
Law.
The Hydrographic Demarcation or the corresponding Citizen Service Center will verify ex officio or at
the request of a party, the extinction of the easement, in order to issue the corresponding resolution.
The owner of the dominant property must restore things to their original state once the easement has
been extinguished.
BOOK THREE
AUTHORIZATIONS
TITLE ONE: GENERAL PROVISIONS CHAPTER

ONE
GENERAL REGIME OF AUTHORIZATIONS FOR WATER USE AND DEVELOPMENT
Article 82 - Use of Water: General Principles: The use of water shall require, as a general rule, the
holding of an authorization, except in the cases provided for in the Law and in these Regulations. The
granting of the authorization shall correspond to the respective Authority of each River Basin District
or to the Citizen Service Center, following the procedure provided for in these Regulations, in
accordance with the technical criteria detailed below:
The Citizen Service Center will hear and resolve applications for water use and exploitation
authorizations corresponding to the simplified procedure; all those for Human Consumption; all those
for Food Sovereignty; those of equal or less than five liters per second for Other Irrigation; those of
equal or less than fifteen liters per second for Animal Watering Places. Applications for authorizations
for productive uses and exploitation will not be processed.
The River Basin Districts shall hear and resolve the applications for water use and exploitation
authorizations corresponding to the general procedure; all those of the Decentralized Autonomous
Governments for Human Consumption; those of more than five liters per second for Other Irrigation;
those of more than fifteen liters per second for Animal Watering Places. They will process all
applications for authorizations for productive uses and exploitation.
Without the need for authorization, everyone may use public watercourses for bathing, drinking and
cooking, subject to the limitation of not impairing water quality or affecting the rights of third parties.
The collection for the uses indicated above must be carried out personally and without the
construction of any infrastructure, however small it may be.
Recreational events and occasional aquatic competitions involving non-consumptive use of water do
not require prior authorization, as long as they do not affect water quality or the rights of third parties.
The use of water for cultural and sacred practices shall be in accordance with the provisions of Article
92 of the Law.
Art. 83.- Classes of uses. Food Sovereignty: In accordance with the provisions of Article 318 of the
Constitution, water resources shall be used for: human consumption, irrigation to ensure food
sovereignty, ecological flow and productive activities.
In accordance with the Organic Law of the Food Sovereignty Regime, irrigation for food sovereignty is
understood to be that which is preferably carried out by peasant agricultural production, popular
economic organizations and artisanal fishing, respecting and protecting agro-biodiversity, traditional
and ancestral knowledge and forms of production, under the principles of equity, solidarity, inclusion,
social and environmental sustainability.
In no case may an authorization for the use of water for irrigation purposes for food sovereignty be
granted if it does not comply with the criteria and parameters established by the Commission formed
in accordance with these Regulations.
The provisions of the second paragraph of this article may also be applied to aquaculture activities
and animal watering.
Article 84 - Definition of irrigation for food sovereignty for the purpose of granting authorizations - For
the quantitative definition of the flow and other criteria and parameters that serve to delimit, for the
purpose of granting authorizations, irrigation for food sovereignty, animal watering, aquaculture and
domestic agricultural food production activities, a Commission shall be formed composed of
representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries, the Ministry of
Production and the Water Secretariat. The Commission will agree on the corresponding figures that
will be made public in the Official Registry and will be applied, from that moment on, by the National
Water Secretariat and the Water Regulation and Control Agency, within their respective
competences.
When, ex officio or by complaint of a party, it becomes known that the conditions that justified, at the
time, the granting of authorizations for the use of water for food sovereignty purposes have been
modified, the body that granted the authorization, after hearing the interested party, will declare its
reversion, which will be recorded in the Public Water Registry. The holders of authorizations whose
cancellation has been declared for this reason may then request authorization for the productive use
of water, such request being processed in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations.
Article 85 - Types and terms of authorizations - In accordance with the provisions of Article 8:7 of the
Law, depending on the purpose of the authorizations, they may be classified as follows:
a) Authorizations for water use; and,

b) Authorizations for the productive use of water.
The aforementioned authorizations may have different durations depending on the nature of their
purpose, and a distinction may be made between:
a) Authorizations for human consumption: they will be granted for a term of twenty years, renewable
for periods of the same duration and without prejudice to the modification thereof, which may take
place at any time due to the effects of demographic evolution (population growth or decrease) or
variability in the volume of available flow;
b) Authorizations for irrigation, aquaculture and animal watering to guarantee food sovereignty: they
will be granted for a term not exceeding ten years, with the possibility of renewals for the same period
of time and without prejudice to the possibility of modifying the same for reasons of variability in the
volume of available flow or demographic evolution;
c) Authorizations for productive activities not considered in food sovereignty: they shall be granted for
a term of up to ten years, renewable for the same or more temporary periods depending on the time
required for the amortization of the investment in the productive activity and in the manner indicated in
this article. All the above without prejudice to the possibility of modifying the same, motivating it in the
variability of the available flow, in the national interest or in the forecasts of water planning; and,
d) Occasional authorizations: will be granted for a term not to exceed two years on surplus or
remaining resources.
When the basin's Integrated Water Resources Management Plans contain water reserves for the
implementation of certain projects, as long as these projects do not start operating, occasional water
authorizations may be granted as mentioned in letter d) of the preceding paragraph. Such
authorizations shall not grant any type of right in case they are cancelled.
to use the water for the purpose foreseen in these plans.
In no case shall perpetual or indefinite authorizations be granted.
Article 86 - Competence for the granting of authorizations: Authorizations shall be processed and
granted within the institutional scope of each Hydrographic Demarcation or of the corresponding
Citizen Service Center. The processing shall be the responsibility of the Citizen Service Centers
where they are requested and the granting in all cases shall be the responsibility of the corresponding
Hydrographic Demarcation Authority.
The processing and granting of authorizations shall take into account the exercise of the powers of
the Water Regulation and Control Agency regulated in these Regulations.
The authorizations shall be registered in the Public Water Registry in the manner indicated in these
Regulations.
Article 87 - Content of authorizations for water use and productive water development -
Authorizations for water use and productive water development shall contain among their conditions:
a) The subjection of the works to be carried out to the technical document submitted for the
application;
b) The location of the works, in the event that they are to be carried out, the start and end dates of the
works to be carried out and of the start of the use and exploitation;
c) The terms of the authorization granted;
d) The obligation to submit to inspection and surveillance of the works in accordance with the
regulations issued by the Water Regulation and Control Agency;
e) The obligation to submit to the volume and flow that during the term of the authorization may be
granted by the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or the corresponding Citizen Service Center if
there is no other available;
f) Ecological flows that must be respected;
g) The obligations to respect the environmental conditions resulting from the environmental license
that may exist, as well as the return of the water under the conditions set forth in the environmental
license or in the specific conditions when there is no environmental license;
h) The obligation to pay the applicable water rates;
i) Mention of the contents of the discharge authorization;
j) The obligation of the beneficiary to be responsible for the prevention and mitigation of
environmental damages caused and to contribute to the good management of the authorized water;
and,
k) Those derived from other applicable legislation and, in particular, from the Integrated River Basin
Management Plan.
Article 88 - Transfer of authorizations - Authorizations for the use of water and the productive use of
water are not transferable, with the exception of succession by death. This exception is subject to the
maintenance of the purpose for which the corresponding authorization was granted.
In the event of transfer of ownership of the land or, in general, change of the holder of the productive
initiative and provided that the purpose for which the water use authorization was granted is
maintained, the new holder must notify the corresponding Hydrographic Demarcation Authority:
a) The name of the natural person or company name of the new legal entity that owns the land or
productive activity;
b) The circumstances that have determined the change of ownership of the productive initiative, with
a true copy of the property title; and,
c) The address of the new owner and any circumstances that may have changed in relation to the
initial application,
Once the regularity of the change of ownership of the activity has been verified, the corresponding
modification of the original registration of the authorization in the Public Water Registry will be made.
Art. 89.- Authorization for the productive use or exploitation of wastewater: Authorizations may be
granted for the productive use or exploitation of treated wastewater, provided they comply with the
quality parameters established by ARCA with the entities with competence in the field of wastewater
treatment according to the intended use.
Under no circumstances may wastewater be used for human consumption.
In accordance with the provisions of Article 38 of the Law, the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority
shall not issue authorization for the productive use and exploitation of wastewater in cases that
obstruct, limit or affect the execution of public sanitation projects or when they do not comply with the
parameters in the regulations for each use.
CHAPTER TWO: AUTHORIZATIONS FOR WATER USE AND PRODUCTIVE WATER

DEVELOPMENT
Article 90 - Water uses and authorizations. Obligations and rights of the holder of the authorization.
For the purposes of granting authorizations for the use of water, it is understood that these are the
administrative acts issued as a general rule by the corresponding Hydrographic Demarcation
Authorities or the corresponding Citizen Service Center, and by means of which a request submitted
by natural or juridical persons is favorably attended to, for the use of a water flow intended for human
consumption or irrigation for food sovereignty, the latter also including animal watering, aquaculture
production activities and domestic agricultural and food production activities, under the conditions
established in these Regulations.
The granting of an authorization for the use of water confers on its holder the exclusive capacity to
collect, treat, convey and use the flow to which the authorization refers.
The holder of the authorization must install, at its own cost, the water flow measurement devices
under the terms established by the Single Water Authority in coordination with the Water Regulation
and Control Agency. The authorization will not be valid without such installation, which must be in
operation at the same time of its operational entry. If it is found that the flow measurement apparatus
has not been installed, the authorization will be declared reversed and the corresponding entry in the
Public Water Register will be cancelled.
Article 91 - Existing concessions and flow measurement devices - In the substitution of concessions
for authorizations regulated in the Second Transitory Provision of the Law, the new authorizations for
the use of water shall require the obligation to install flow measurement devices under the conditions
set forth in the third paragraph of the preceding article.
The Hydrographic Demarcation Authorities or the corresponding Citizen Service Center shall initiate
the procedure within the time limits established by the Single Water Authority, in accordance with the
general principles set forth in the Second Transitory Provision of the Law.
Article 92 - Obligations and rights of the holder of the authorization for the productive use of water:
The authorization for the productive use of water confers on its holder the exclusive right to collect,
treat, convey and use the flow referred to in the authorization.
The holder of the authorization must install, at his own cost, the water flow measurement devices
under the terms established by the Single Water Authority in coordination with the Water Regulation
and Control Agency. The authorization will not be valid without such installation, which must be in
operation at the time of the beginning of the utilization. If it is found that the flow measurement device
has not been installed, the authorization will be declared reversed and its registration in the Public
Water Registry will be cancelled.
CHAPTER THREE: USE AND DEVELOPMENT OF SUBWAY WATERS
Article 93 - General Provisions: Groundwater exploration activities are subject to the existence of a
prior license. For the utilization of subway waters, the respective authorization shall be required.
Groundwater exploration is understood as all operations aimed at determining the existence of

groundwater, including the work of deepening the ground, drilling and gauging of the flows obtained.
The licenses and authorizations mentioned in this precept shall be granted by the Hydrographic
Demarcation or the corresponding Citizen Service Center to whom the appropriate requests shall also
be made; all in accordance with the provisions of the following articles.
Article 94 - Procedure for granting the exploration license: Whoever wishes to carry out groundwater
exploration activities shall obtain the corresponding license from the Hydrographic Demarcation
Authority or the corresponding Citizen Service Center, in whose jurisdiction the exploration work is to
take place.
The application may be made by any natural or legal person who must prove ownership of the land
where he/she wishes to carry out the work or, if not, indicate the name and address of the owners.
The application must be accompanied by an exploration project that must contain:
a) Explanation of the purpose for which the waters to be uncovered are to be used, areas reached by
the work, location, characteristics and expected duration of the works and the system and points of
waste and flow evacuation;
b) General plan of the land or outcrop area, showing existing uses, natural and artificial water flows,
springs and wells, roads and existing mining operations;
c) Plan of the planned works, with details, diameters and depths;
d) Approximate budget for the works;
e) Uses and purposes of the exploitation. In the case of irrigation, conformity of the owners of the
land for which the water will be used, if it is not the same applicant of the application for exploration;
and,
f) Exploitation regime with indication of the maximum flow and annual volume to be used.
Once the application has been received, it will be transferred to the owner of the land, when it is not
the applicant himself, to inform him of his preferential right to carry out this work if he so desires.
The owner's affirmative answer must be followed by the presentation of the pertinent documentation
within a maximum period of two months. The documentation to be presented will be the one included
in this precept.
If the owner does not wish to carry out the exploration, the procedure initiated by the original applicant
will be followed.
Article 95.- Content of the exploration license.- After the corresponding
If applicable, the exploration license will be granted. The term for the processing of the procedure will
be three months, after which, if no pronouncement is made by the Autoridad Unica del Agua, the
application will be understood to have been denied,
The content of the license shall respect the requirements that may exist in the Integrated Water
Resources Management Plan of the Basin, in particular, shall be established in the license:
a) Its duration, which may not exceed two years;

b) The maximum flow rate and maximum annual volume expected to be used;
c) The technical standards of execution as well as those related to the conservation of the affected
aquifers;
d) Description of the gauging tests and analyses to be performed; and,
e) If the exploration is negative, the prescriptions for sealing the borehole and restoring the ground to
original conditions.
The granting of the license will implicitly include the authorization to temporarily occupy the land
necessary to carry out the work. The easement established must be compensated for.
Article 96 - Early termination of the procedure - The procedure for the granting of the exploration
license may be terminated early due to the following circumstances:
a) If the application does not meet the requirements and the defects are not corrected within the term
granted by the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority through the Citizen Service Center; and,
b) By withdrawal of the applicant.
Article 97 - Obligations and rights of the exploration licensee - The exploration licensee shall
communicate to the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority, within a maximum period of two months
after its completion, the results of the exploration work.
If the result is positive, the license holder will have the right to apply for the water use authorization
within a maximum period of six months after the end of the license.
Article 98 - Termination of the exploration license - Exploration licenses shall terminate:
a) Par subsequent granting of the water authorization, if they had not been extinguished before;
b) By withdrawal of the holder;
c) Due to the expiration of the term for which they were granted; and,
d) For failure to comply with the obligations established in the license.
When the exploration license is terminated, the corresponding entry in the Public Water Registry will
be made.
Article 99 - Authorizations for the use and development of groundwaters. Content.- The granting of
authorizations for the use and development of groundwaters shall be subject to the following general
conditions:
a) That its drilling does not harm the conditions of the aquifer, nor the quality of the water or the
surface area included in the radius of influence of the well or gallery; and,
b) That it does not interfere with other wells, galleries or water sources and, in general, with other pre-
existing outcrops. For these purposes and if the Integrated Water Resources Management Plans of
Basins do not establish any other distance, the opening of a well may not be authorized at less than
100 meters from another well or from a public watercourse.
Likewise, the authorizations for the use of water and productive exploitation of groundwater must
indicate:
a) Maximum annual volume granted, maximum monthly volume, if applicable, and maximum flow rate;
b) Use and destination of water;
c) Maximum depth of work and maximum installation depth of the lifting pump;
d) The obligation of the holder of the authorization to build, at his own cost, the works and the
installation of the water flow measurement devices under the terms established by the Single Water
Authority in coordination with the Water Regulation and Control Agency. The authorization will not be
valid without such installation, which must be in operation at the time of the beginning of the
development. If it is found that the flow measurement device has not been installed, the authorization
will be declared reversed and its registration in the Public Water Registry will be cancelled.
e) Term of the authorization; and,
f) Any other matters deemed pertinent,
The procedure for the granting of authorizations for the use and development of groundwater shall be
the general or simplified procedure, as prescribed in these Regulations.
Art. 100.- Inspection of water exploitation: The Water Regulation and Control Agency shall issue the
respective regulations and inspect groundwater exploitations to verify compliance with the guidelines
and conditions established in the corresponding authorization.
At any time, this authority may, ex officio or at the request of a party, order the modification of
methods, systems, installations for groundwater extraction or sustainable use of groundwater that do
not comply with the contents of the Agency's regulations.
TITLE TWO
TYPES OF PRODUCTIVE USE OF WATER AND AUTHORIZATION REGIME CHAPTER ONE:
AQUACULTURE
Art. 101.- Authorization for the productive use of water: Those who engage in aquaculture activity
and in the event that this is not included within food sovereignty according to the terms expressed in
these Regulations, shall obtain the respective authorization for the productive use of water from the
respective Authority of each Hydrographic District or from the corresponding Citizen Service Center
and pay the established fees.
Article 102 - Prohibition: In accordance with the provisions of Article 109 of the Law, no authorization
shall be granted for the productive use of water for aquaculture activities in the territorial area of
mangroves, nor shall any fee be charged for such use.
Those who, in accordance with the same precept, wish to obtain or renew an authorization for the
productive use for aquaculture, must first obtain an authorization from the Ministry of Agriculture,
Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries and with it request the corresponding authorization from the
Hydrographic Demarcation Authority, applying the procedure provided in these Regulations for the
granting of authorizations for the use of water.
In the specific case of the renewal of an authorization for the productive use of water, if the
authorization is not obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries,
the authorization will be declared expired and the registration in the Public Water Registry will be
carried out.
CHAPTER TWO: WATER USE IN MINING AND HYDROCARBON ACTIVITIES
Art. 103 - Protection of water sources - In the event that the authorization requested may affect water
sources or aquifer recharge areas, the Single Water Authority shall expressly ensure that the quality
of water and the balance of ecosystems are maintained.
The corresponding conditions will be introduced, if applicable, in the authorization granted.
In general, coordination must be reached with the National Environmental Authority for the monitoring
of the environmental management system provided for in the respective environmental license issued
by said Authority.
Art. 104.- Return of water: Water collected for mining and hydrocarbon works shall be returned to the
riverbed from which it was collected or, in any case, to the most appropriate one for this purpose, in
compliance with the specific regulation issued by the National Environmental Authority, whether it is
surface or by injection.
TITLE THREE
REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES FOR THE GRANTING OF AUTHORIZATIONS FOR
WATER USE AND PRODUCTIVE WATER DEVELOPMENT
Art. 105.- General principles.- Through the procedure for granting authorizations for water use and
productive water development, the Secretariat of Water shall guarantee:
a) Respect for the prescriptions of the Law and these Regulations;

b) Adequate management of citizens' rights;
c) Respect for the principles of publicity and competition regulated by law;
d) Prohibition of water hoarding;
e) The satisfaction of water needs for productive use and development; and,
f) Protection of water quality, water sources and water ecosystems.
Article 106 - Types of Procedures for Water Use and Development Authorizations - There are two
types of procedures for obtaining water use and development authorizations:
1. General Procedure; and,

2. Simplified Procedure.
Article 107 - General Procedure
1. The user shall submit the application for the granting of the use authorization, accompanying the
documents determined by the Secretariat of Water for such purpose.
2. The Hydrographic Demarcation or the corresponding Citizen Service Center will qualify the
request, analyzing the compatibility with the objectives of water planning, within three working days;
and,
3. The Hydrographic Demarcation or the corresponding Citizen Service Center will deliver to the user,
within one working day from the qualification of the request, the publication extract forms for the
commissioned authorities of the place where the water intake will be located, indicating the maximum
time for publication.
Within twelve days after receiving the extracts, the user shall: a) Deliver within the first two days the
extract to the commissioned authority, who shall immediately post the posters, which shall remain
exposed for 10 consecutive days in at least 3 of the most frequented places in the locality; and, b)
Announce through the press three consecutive publications.
At the end of the publication period, the user must submit the documentation supporting the
advertising process within three days.
At the end of the advertising period, ten days will be counted for the respective oppositions to be filed.
4. In the event that opposition is filed, this may be done by means of a written document, in which the
following information is included
justifies the violation of rights; or by an alternative project proposal, in a sealed envelope, complying
with the same requirements set forth in paragraph 1 of this article;
5. The Hydrographic Demarcation or the corresponding Citizen Service Center in case of opposition
will follow the procedure established in the ERJAFE, as well as in the rules of supplementary
application;
6. The Hydrographic Demarcation or the corresponding Citizen Service Center will set a time and
date for the technical inspection, which must be completed within 15 days from the issuance of the
order;
7. The Hydrographic Demarcation or the corresponding Citizen Service Center will prepare a
technical report within eight days after the technical inspection;
8. The Hydrographic Demarcation or the corresponding Citizen Service Center will notify the applicant
within three days of the content of the technical report for acceptance or objection;
9. The user shall reply within three days to the acceptance or objection to the technical report;
10. Once the technical report has been accepted by the applicant, the Hydrographic Demarcation or
the corresponding Citizen Service Center will send a certified copy of the file to the ARCA so that it
may issue the corresponding binding preliminary report within five days;
11. Within five days the Hydrographic Demarcation or the corresponding Citizen Service Center will
issue the administrative resolution and notify the applicant.
Article 108 - Simplified Procedure.
1. The user shall submit the application for authorization of use, accompanied by the following:
a) ID card, RUC or document that accredits the capacity in which he/she appears;
b) Document that accredits the ownership of the property.
2. The Citizen Service Center will qualify the application within two working days;
3. The Citizen Service Center will deliver to the user within one working day from the qualification of
the request, the publication extract form, for the commissioned authorities of the place where the
water intake will be located, indicating the maximum time for publication.
Within twelve days after receiving the extract, the user shall deliver the same, within the first two days,
to the commissioned authority, who shall immediately post the posters, which shall remain exposed
for 10 consecutive days in the three most frequented places of the locality. At the end of the
advertising period, ten days shall be counted for the respective oppositions to be filed.
4. In case of opposition, this may be done by means of a written document, justifying the violation of
rights;
5. In case of opposition, the Citizen Service Center will follow the procedure established in the
ERJAFE, as well as in the rules of supplementary application;
6. The Citizen Service Center will set a time and date for the technical inspection, which must be
completed within 15 days from the date of issuance of the order;
7. The Citizen Service Center will prepare a technical report within five days after the technical
inspection;
8. The Citizen Service Center will notify the applicant within three days of the content of the technical
report for acceptance or objection;
9. The user shall reply within three days to the acceptance or objection to the technical report;
10. Within five days the Citizen Service Center will issue the administrative resolution and notify the
applicant of the same.
Article 109 - Renewal, modification, revision, reversion, suspension and other administrative acts
relating to authorizations for the use and development of water - The procedure for attending to
The renewal, modification, revision, reversion, suspension and other administrative acts related to the
authorizations for the use and exploitation of water shall be the simplified procedure established in
these Regulations, with the exception of publication.
Art. 110.- Water hoarding. Administrative procedure for declaration.
In accordance with the provisions of Article 129 of the Law, water hoarding is understood to be the
disposition or retention, by any means, of a flow or flows of water for productive use and exploitation
in quantities greater than those necessary, to the detriment of a third party.
In accordance with the provisions of these Regulations and the principles governing the procedure for
the granting of authorizations, the Water Secretariat, through its various bodies, shall ensure that no
water use hoarding takes place. The same shall be done by the Water Regulation and Control
Agency.
The administrative procedure to declare the existence of hoardings shall be as follows:
a) It shall be initiated by administrative agreement of the Citizen Service Center when the technical
studies carried out reveal a hoarding situation as indicated in the first paragraph of this article. The
studies carried out shall be included in the file.
b) The affected licensee shall be notified of the initiation of the procedure and shall be granted a
period of fifteen days to have access to the file and to present allegations.
c) Within fifteen days after the submission of allegations, the Citizen Service Center will submit a
resolution proposal to the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority.
d) The Hydrographic Demarcation Authority shall make the final decision. The proposal shall state
whether, in order to solve the hoarding situation, the modification or reversion of the authorizations
involved should be carried out.
e) The resolution must be registered in the Public Water Registry.
Article 111 - Redistribution and reallocation of water - In accordance with the provisions of Article
130 of the Law, the Hydrographic Demarcation Authority may proceed to the redistribution and
reallocation of water. For this purpose, it shall make public at the Demarcation's Citizen Service
Centers the existence of recovered volumes in the availability of the Demarcation's water for the
usual granting of authorizations, with application of the principles of competition and publicity, based
on the order of priority and affirmative actions of collective rights in favor of its holders, in accordance
with the Constitution and the Law.
When it is known that there are needs to be covered in relation to the guarantee of the human right to
water or irrigation for food sovereignty, the River Basin District Authority may carry out the necessary
actions to proceed to cover the existing needs with the flows resulting from the reversal of the
authorization. The Single Water Authority, by means of technical regulations, shall establish the
criteria and mechanisms for redistribution, observing the order of priority established in the Law.
BOOK FOUR: TARIFFS TITLE
ONE: TARIFFS
Article 112 - Definition of tariff and parties liable for payment - In accordance with the provisions of
Article 135 of the Law, a tariff is understood to be the remuneration that a user must pay for the
rendering of services and authorization for the use and development of water.
In the case of tariffs for the provision of basic public services of drinking water supply or sanitation,
the payment corresponds from the consumers to the service providers.
In the case of fees for irrigation services, the corresponding payment is made by the
consumers to service providers.
CHAPTER ONE: DISTRIBUTION OF COMPETENCIES
Article 113 - Powers of the Secretariat for Water - The Secretariat for Water is responsible for
establishing the general parameters for setting the rates for the provision of public drinking water,
sanitation, irrigation and drainage services to be applied by the service providers for the setting of
such rates.
It also corresponds to the Water Secretariat to set the amounts of the tariffs of the authorizations for
the use and productive exploitation of water in accordance with the regulations established by the
Water Regulation and Control Agency.
Article 114 - Powers of the Water Regulation and Control Agency - In accordance with the provisions
of Article 23 (h) of the Law, the Water Regulation and Control Agency is responsible for regulating the
application of technical and actuarial criteria for the setting of rates for the use and productive
exploitation of water by the Water Secretariat.
The Water Regulation and Control Agency is also responsible for issuing the technical regulations for
the establishment of tariffs for the provision of public drinking water, sanitation, irrigation and drainage
services. In accordance with said regulations, the rates will be set by the service providers.
When the rates mentioned in the preceding paragraph are already established, the Water Regulation
and Control Agency shall be responsible for controlling their application.
For the purpose of exercising its power to control the application of tariffs by service providers, the
Water Regulation and Control Agency may request from such entities such information as may be
necessary for the fulfillment of its function, which shall be sent to it within fifteen days.
Article 115 - Powers of the Public Water Company - The Public Water Company is responsible for
the commercial management of water use and exploitation, in accordance with the provisions of
Executive Decree 310 of April 17, 2014.
The Empresa Pública del Agua has coercive jurisdiction in the area mentioned in the preceding
paragraph. The collection management model will be established by internal regulation.
CHAPTER TWO: GENERAL CRITERIA FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TARIFFS
Art. 116.- Purpose of the tariff system. The tariff system shall serve to achieve an efficient use of
water, discouraging excessive consumption, waste, operating losses and others, and favoring water
saving and conservation. Likewise, and through the establishment and efficient collection system, the
proper use and state of protection and conservation of watershed management and hydraulic
infrastructure will be facilitated, as well as its replacement in the appropriate periods of time. The
establishment of tariffs should promote, together with other economic resources, the policy of
investment in hydraulic infrastructure to improve efficiency in the supply and distribution of water for
its different uses.
No use or exploitation of water may be exempted from the payment of the corresponding tariff without
prejudice to the differentiated application thereof.
Article 117 - Definition of solidarity, equity, sustainability and periodicity - The principles of solidarity,
equity, sustainability and periodicity mentioned in Article 136 of the Law for the establishment of rates
shall be understood as follows:
a) Solidarity: A tariff system is solidarity-based if it can ensure that the tariffs established for high
consumers of a service favor the possibility of low-consumption consumers to receive the service at a
value that can be assumed by them without affecting the sustainability of the service.
b) Equity: The establishment of tariffs is based on principles of equity when equal situations are
subject to identical tariff levels. The purpose of equity also coincides with the basic principles of
solidarity.
c) Sustainability: A tariff system is economically sustainable when, through its establishment and
collection, it is possible to manage a system of water infrastructure, watershed protection and
management, and progressively improve its quality and efficiency in water management, as well as
the provision of related public services.
d) Periodicity: The tariffs must be reviewed periodically to adapt them to new circumstances that
arise and to achieve sustainability. A maximum period of five years is established for the review of the
tariffs by the licensee entity for their establishment.
The technical regulations issued by the Water Regulation and Control Agency should allow for the
achievement of the above principles.
Art. 118.- Differentiation.- When the Law or these Regulations indicate that a tariff shall be
differentiated, this means that it shall take into consideration the socioeconomic situation of persons
with lower income and disability condition of the consumers of the services and, if applicable, the
incentives of the State for certain uses or geographic locations.
Article 119 - Minimum vital quantity - The minimum vital quantity of water is understood to be that
which is necessary for the development of human life in conditions of well-being and safety for the
hygiene and consumption of human beings, in such a way as to be considered a state of low risk to
health.
The concept of minimum vital quantity of water will apply in these two circumstances:
a) In relation to the raw water that the Water Secretariat must deliver to the users that provide
drinking water supply services. Said amount will not be subject to any tariff and will be fixed by the
Water Secretariat in accordance with the technical criteria to be established.
b) In relation to the drinking water that the providers of drinking water services must deliver to
consumers and that is related to the content of the human right to water. In order to establish the
amount necessary for this purpose, the amount that may be deduced from international standards and
what is considered appropriate according to the technical criteria established by the Water
Secretariat, which will consider the different geographic and climatic zones of the country.
Article 120 - Volume used - When the Law refers to the volume used as one of the components of
the tariffs, the volume used shall be understood to be that indicated by the corresponding flow
measurement systems. When these do not exist, the maximum annual volume appearing in the
authorization for the use of water, productive use of water, and the determination of the estimated
volume in accordance with the criteria established by the Secretariat of Water, shall be considered.
In the event of restrictions in the delivery of authorized volumes as a result of drought situations or
other circumstances, the corresponding tariffs will be adjusted as appropriate for the specific year,
taking into account the percentage reduction applied by the Water Secretariat in relation to what is
foreseen in the authorization.
CHAPTER THREE: TYPES OF TARIFFS AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES FOR THEIR REGULATION
AND MANAGEMENT
Article 121 - Tariffs for authorization for the use and exploitation of raw water - The tariffs may be
different according to the different uses of water based on the following criteria:
a) The social and economic utility of the use of the water. Within these concepts, the economic
capacity of the holder of the authorization, the geographic location of the water use or productive use
according to state incentives, the generation of employment and the character of popular and
solidarity economy of the holder of the corresponding authorization shall be considered; and,
b) Whether or not there is consumptive use of water, and in the case of consumptive use, the degree
of efficiency will be differentiated.
In any case, the tariff shall include the component related to the protection, conservation of
watersheds, protection of water sources and water recharge areas referred to in these Regulations.
The technical regulations issued by the Water Regulation and Control Agency will contain the precise
quantitative criteria for carrying out the aforementioned differentiation and the components of the
tariff.
Article 122 - Fee for authorization to use water for irrigation to guarantee food sovereignty - In
accordance with the provisions of Article 141 of the Law, there shall be a fee for authorization to use
water for irrigation to guarantee food sovereignty.
Only authorizations for irrigation, animal watering, aquaculture and domestic agricultural and livestock
food production activities may be subject to this type of tariff when they fall within the general
parameters for obtaining such an authorization.
The rate referred to in this article shall be maintained as long as the authorization is not modified for
exceeding the established parameters. When this happens, the specific activity shall pay the rate for
productive use of water.
The above paragraphs shall have the limitation of the exemption established in the second paragraph
of Article 141 of the Law for community systems carrying collective rights and community service
providers that receive flows of less than five liters per second in the event that they are linked to
production for food sovereignty under the terms set forth in this article.
BOOK FIVE: INFRACTIONS
TITLE ONE: INFRINGEMENTS AND PROCEDURE
Article 123 - Powers and sanctioning procedure - The Water Secretariat is responsible for the
processing of sanctioning procedures and their final resolution in matters within its competence. The
processing of very serious infractions shall be the responsibility of the respective Authority of each
River Basin District, and the processing of minor and serious infractions shall be the responsibility of
the corresponding Citizen Service Center. Appeals against the sanctioning resolutions of the
Hydrographic Demarcation Authority or of the Citizen Service Centers shall be filed before the
Secretary for Water or his delegate.
The Regulation and Control Agency is responsible for processing and resolving sanctioning
procedures for non-compliance with national regulations in accordance with Article 23 paragraph j) of
the Law. Appeals against resolutions
The sanctioning measures issued by the latter shall be resolved by the Secretary of Water or his
delegate in accordance with the provisions of Article 18, paragraph n) of the Law.
The administrative procedures referred to in this precept shall be governed by the provisions of the
Statute of the Administrative Legal Regime of the Executive Function. In any case, the due process
requirements contained in Article 154 of the Law shall be respected.
The sanctioning procedure of the Hydrographic Demarcation or the Citizen Attention Centers will last
three months.
The sanctioning procedure from its initiation by the ARCA until its resolution will last a maximum of
three months.
CHAPTER ONE: ADMINISTRATIVE INFRACTIONS
Article 124 - List of Administrative Violations - The administrative violations are those listed in Article
151 of the Law.
Pursuant to the second general provision of the Law, the Single Water Authority and the Water
Regulation and Control Agency, within the scope of their competences, will issue the regulations
establishing the technical parameters for the evaluation and determination of the infractions, penalties
and fines prescribed therein. Pending the issuance of such regulations, the administrative
infringement will be classified as minor, serious or very serious depending on the damage caused to
general interests, the state of the public water domain, or the social and economic importance of the
activity.
The Regulation and Control Agency may adopt the corresponding control measures on its own
initiative or at the request of a party, when non-compliance by the GAD with the Law, its general
regulations and legal rules in force has been verified. If after having notified the fact and having
complied with the term granted to remedy the fault, which may be fixed by mutual agreement, a
serious deficiency in the rendering of the service still exists, ARCA shall apply the corresponding
sanctions established in the Law and in these Regulations.
Article 125 - Filing of other actions and complaints - Once the sanction has been issued, the Single
Water Authority or its delegate may file the corresponding civil action to obtain payment of damages
from those responsible. Within the same period of time and if legally appropriate, a complaint shall be
filed with the Public Prosecutor's Office, in order to initiate the appropriate actions.
CHAPTER TWO: ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS
Article 126 - Recidivism and aggravating circumstances - Recidivism shall be considered an

aggravating circumstance under the terms indicated in article 152 of the Law.
The bodies that process and resolve the sanctioning procedure may consider the existence of other
aggravating factors such as special knowledge of the regulatory mandate due to the technical
qualification of the person responsible, the singular benefit obtained from the commission of the
infringement and other similar ones.
The reasoned assessment of the existence of an aggravating circumstance will lead to the imposition
of the fine regulated in article 162 of the Law, in its maximum degree.
Article 127 - In the event that the benefit obtained exceeds the maximum amount of the fine to be
imposed - In the event that the benefit obtained by the person or persons responsible for the
infringement exceeds the value of the fine to be imposed in its maximum amount, the fine shall be
extended to the totality of the benefit obtained by the administrative infringement.
The valuation of the benefit obtained will be made in the specific sanctioning procedure that is being
processed.
This will require a reasoning in the sanctioning resolution that demonstrates the excess of the benefit
obtained over the maximum amount of the fine to be imposed.
GENERAL PROVISION
UNICA: The communities that have access to drinking water, irrigation and drainage services through
community organizations other than Drinking Water and Sanitation Boards and Irrigation Boards,
shall form Drinking Water Boards and Irrigation Boards in accordance with the provisions of the Law
and these Regulations.
TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
FIRST: In accordance with the provisions of the Second General Provision of the Organic Law on
Citizen Participation and Social Control, when a Law establishes specific instances of participation,
these shall prevail over the procedures and instances established in the Organic Law on Citizen
Participation and Social Control, therefore the Sectoral Citizen Water Council elected for the 2014-
2016 period shall exercise its functions for the period they were elected, after which the provisions of
these Regulations shall apply.
SECOND: Until it is modified, the Hydrographic Districts are those established by Agreement No.
2010-66 of February 18, 2010 of the National Secretary of Water, likewise the Citizen Service
Centers of each Hydrographic District are those that appear in Agreement No. 2011-335 of
September 5, 2011 of the National Secretary of Water as Zonal Centers.
THIRD: Pending approval of the National Water Resources Plan, transfers may be authorized by the
Secretariat of Water once the evaluation referred to in the following paragraph has taken place.
FOURTH: In order to comply with the provisions of the transitory provisions of the Law, the Single
Water Authority shall issue the corresponding technical standard, as the case may be, for all matters
not provided for in these regulations.
FIFTH: The evaluation shall be carried out every two years and the first evaluation shall take place
before December 31, 2016, covering the period of time from the incorporation of the Agency until two
years thereafter.
SIXTH: In accordance with the provisions of Article 76 of the Law, within a maximum period of one
year after the entry into force of these Regulations, the Water Secretariat, in coordination with the
National Environmental Authority, shall establish by regulation the criteria, parameters and
methodologies for determining the ecological flow according to the conditions and characteristics of
the bodies of water, which shall be considered within the national water planning.
Pending the approval of such regulations, the Water Secretariat will establish as ecological flow 10%
of the multiannual average monthly flow of the natural regime of the source, determined on the basis
of hydrological data for at least 10 years.
Given at the National Palace, in Quito, on March 31, 2015.
f.) Rafael Correa Delgado, Constitutional President of the Republic.
Quito April 13, 2015, I certify that the foregoing is a true copy of the original.
Electronically signed document.
Alexis Mera Giler.
GENERAL LEGAL SECRETARY.
General Legal Secretariat.

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REGULATION OF THE WATER RESOURCES LAW

WATER USES AND DEVELOPMENT

Rafael Correa Delgado

In use of the constitutional and legal powers vested in him. Decrees:

Water BOOK ONE

NATIONAL STRATEGIC WATER SYSTEM

1. The Single Water Authority, which directs it;

1. Appoint and remove the Executive Director of the Agency;

The person to be appointed as Director (a) of the Agency shall:

1. To have a third level degree;

Article 19 - Modification and cancellation of registrations - Whenever a decision is taken that

CHAPTER ONE USER

Consumers of water-related services provided by the Decentralized Autonomous Governments, or

a) An Assembly to which all its members shall belong;

CHAPTER TWO BASIN

Local Hydrographic Planning shall have the following composition:

TITLE FOUR WATER

a) The National Water Resources Plan; and,

Article 38 - Diversions - Diversions are understood to be the construction of infrastructure to

TITLE ONE: THE PUBLIC WATER DOMAIN CHAPTER ONE:

EXTENSION, TYPES AND DEFINITIONS

The purpose to be fulfilled by the Hydraulic Protection Zones are:

a) Facilitate access to the site for maintenance and repair work;

Article 57 - Alveos and natural watercourses - The natural watercourses of a continuous or

It is up to the Water Secretariat, through the corresponding Hydrographic Demarcation Authorities or

Section One: Easements for public use

Section Two: Water protection areas

The purposes to be fulfilled by the water protection zones are:

a) In areas near the mouth of watercourses in the sea;

a) Substantial alterations to the natural relief of the land;

Section Three: Restriction Zones

The following activities shall be subject to authorization in the restriction zones:

a) Substantial alterations to the natural relief of the land;

a) Substantial alterations to the natural relief of the land;

The Hydrographic Demarcation Authority shall issue the respective resolution.

CHAPTER FOUR: EASEMENTS

Section One: General Principles.

Section Two: On the aqueduct easement.

Article 77 - Administrative procedure for the constitution of the easement: initiation.

TITLE ONE: GENERAL PROVISIONS CHAPTER

GENERAL REGIME OF AUTHORIZATIONS FOR WATER USE AND DEVELOPMENT

a) Authorizations for water use; and,

In no case shall perpetual or indefinite authorizations be granted.

Under no circumstances may wastewater be used for human consumption.

CHAPTER TWO: AUTHORIZATIONS FOR WATER USE AND PRODUCTIVE WATER

CHAPTER THREE: USE AND DEVELOPMENT OF SUBWAY WATERS

Groundwater exploration is understood as all operations aimed at determining the existence of

Article 95.- Content of the exploration license.- After the corresponding

a) Its duration, which may not exceed two years;

Article 98 - Termination of the exploration license - Exploration licenses shall terminate:

CHAPTER TWO: WATER USE IN MINING AND HYDROCARBON ACTIVITIES

a) Respect for the prescriptions of the Law and these Regulations;

1. General Procedure; and,

Article 107 - General Procedure

Article 108 - Simplified Procedure.

Art. 110.- Water hoarding. Administrative procedure for declaration.

The administrative procedure to declare the existence of hoardings shall be as follows:

BOOK FOUR: TARIFFS TITLE

CHAPTER ONE: DISTRIBUTION OF COMPETENCIES

CHAPTER TWO: GENERAL CRITERIA FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TARIFFS

BOOK FIVE: INFRACTIONS

TITLE ONE: INFRINGEMENTS AND PROCEDURE