Inequalities in Drinking Water Access in Piura (Peru): Territorial Diagnosis and Governance Challenges

Eduardo Alonso Sánchez Ruiz (), Lázaro V. Cremades and Stephanie Villanueva Benites
Additional contact information
Eduardo Alonso Sánchez Ruiz: Project and Construction Engineering Department, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Lázaro V. Cremades: Project and Construction Engineering Department, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Stephanie Villanueva Benites: Industrial and ICT Engineering Manresa Department, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08242 Manresa, Spain

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 16, 1-19

Abstract: Latin American countries continue to face critical challenges in ensuring safe and continuous access to drinking water, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas. This article presents a territorial and institutional diagnosis of drinking water access in the Piura region (Peru). It is a coastal region with approximately 2 million inhabitants, characterized by environmental stress, governance fragmentation, and social inequality. The study adopts a structural documentary approach based on academic literature and validated institutional data to analyze spatial disparities in water coverage, continuity, and quality. It identifies structural and institutional barriers—such as overlapping mandates, limited local capacity, and the absence of monitoring systems—to universal access. The findings also highlight the limitations of isolated innovation efforts, such as pilot projects led by universities and private companies, which often lack mechanisms for institutional integration and policy scaling. The analysis is framed within international water governance frameworks, including the OECD Principles and the Integrated Water Resources Management paradigm, and aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 6. The study offers a multi-scalar perspective grounded in local realities and identifies governance research gaps in rural Peru. Results underscore the need for territorialized planning, strengthened coordination, and inclusive governance to achieve sustainable and equitable water access in fragile contexts.

Keywords: drinking water access; water governance; territorial disparities; Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM); Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6); Piura; Peru (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/16/7542/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/16/7542/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:16:p:7542-:d:1729131

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().