This article presents a review of the current system of management of public urban water and sanitation services in Chile, which is under concession to companies controlled by foreign capital. After a brief historical account, the article focuses on the sanitary crisis that took place in the city of Osorno in July 2019 to demystify the achievements and expose the failures associated with Chile’s privatized management model. The aim is to provide arguments for the debate on the risks associated with the privatization of essential public services, the advance of privatization initiatives, and the processes to bring back these services into public hands in Chile and Latin America.