In July 2022, the General Law on Water Resources, approved by the Legislative Assembly on December 2021 and published in the Official Newspaper N°8 Volume 434 of 12 January 2022, became effective. This Law is composed of 9 titles and 179 articles.
Among the outstanding aspects of the Law is the recognition by the Salvadoran State of the human right to "water" and "sanitation", establishing that the former may not be privatized and seeking to ensure environmental sustainability for both present and future generations.
Another outstanding aspect is the creation of the Salvadoran Water Authority (ASA in Spanish), in charge of regulating the quality of water resources, which will be made up of most representatives from different members of the Executive Branch.
The Law also establishes that any use other than domestic use must have the corresponding authorizations from the ASA for its use; and consequently, a sanctioning procedure is also developed, which will oversee a Sanctioning Tribunal, responsible for determining the type of infractions committed by individuals against the provisions regulated by the Law.
In other words, with the creation of the Law, the aim is to guarantee the human right to water for the Salvadoran population, through the optimization of water resources and the creation of the ASA.