News facts
The CTCN is seeking experts to participate in the upcoming solicitation to provide technical assistance on:
Artificial Intelligence – Based Reduction of Non-Revenue Water in Urban Drinking Water Systems in Chile: Pilot Implementation in Tocopilla
Deadline: 19 January 2026
Chile faces increasing climate-related pressures on its water resources, driven by prolonged drought, declining precipitation, and rising temperatures. These trends have significantly reduced surface water availability and intensified hydrological droughts, placing urban water systems under growing stress, particularly in central and northern regions. Climate change impacts, combined with structural challenges in water governance and infrastructure, pose serious risks to water security for human consumption.
Water losses in drinking water supply systems remain a critical challenge. Despite national commitments under the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the Long-Term Climate Strategy, and the National Water Resources Strategy to reduce non-revenue water (NRW) by at least 25–30% by 2030, current loss levels remain high in several urban systems. In Tocopilla, a coastal commune historically affected by heavy industrial activity and environmental vulnerability, NRW reaches approximately 39%. The city relies heavily on energy-intensive desalinated water, making water loss reduction essential for both climate adaptation and mitigation, as well as for improving service resilience and efficiency.
While utilities such as Aguas Antofagasta have invested in smart meters, acoustic sensors, and monitoring infrastructure, the effective application of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence for leak detection and network optimization remains constrained by data integration challenges, limited calibration datasets, and insufficient institutional capacity. These barriers reduce the potential to fully leverage existing technologies and to generate scalable, evidence-based solutions for NRW reduction.
Through the CTCN, Chile will strengthen technical and institutional capacities to pilot and operationalize AI-based solutions for reducing non-revenue water in urban drinking water systems. The technical assistance will support the integration of existing network data, enhance analytical capabilities, and generate practical evidence to inform decision-making and replication at national level. Some of the expected outputs are:
- Design and implementation of an AI-based pilot for leak detection and NRW reduction in the urban drinking water network of Tocopilla;
- Technical assessment of data availability, quality, and integration needs to support machine-learning applications in water loss management;
- Capacity building and knowledge products to support adoption, scaling, and replication of AI-enabled NRW reduction approaches across Chile.
The CTCN invites qualified experts and firms to submit Expressions of Interest (EOI) to participate in this initiative. For further information on this opportunity, visit the UN Global Market Place (UNGM) or the UN website.
If you are not yet a member of the CTCN Network, you can apply to join here.