Law No. 11.088 establishing the State Water Resources Policy and the State Water Resources System.

This Law establishes the State Water Resources Policy and creates the State Water Resources System. Its main objective is to ensure the availability of water for present and future generations in adequate quantity and quality, while promoting the rational, integrated, and sustainable use of water resources. The law recognizes water as a public good with social, environmental, and economic functions, prioritizing human consumption and animal watering in situations of scarcity. It also aims to prevent and mitigate hydrological crises such as droughts, floods, pollution, and environmental degradation, while encouraging the conservation, protection, and efficient use of both surface and groundwater resources. To achieve these objectives, the law establishes a comprehensive water governance framework based on decentralized and participatory management. It introduces key planning and regulatory instruments, including the State Water Resources Plan, River Basin Plans, water-use permits (outorga), water-use charges, and a State Water Resources Information System. The legislation also creates institutional bodies responsible for water management, such as the State Water Resources Council, River Basin Committees, Water Agencies, and the State Secretariat for the Environment. In addition, it provides mechanisms for monitoring water use, resolving conflicts among users, financing water-resource programs through the State Water Resources Fund (FEHIDRO), and enforcing compliance through administrative penalties for unauthorized or harmful uses of water resources.