Current expenditure and investment for water resources management. An analysis in the Ecuadorian manufacturing industry

INTRODUCTION. Environmental deterioration is a matter of great concern caused in part by industrial activities, where the main impacts are generated through emissions, solid waste and polluting wastewater. OBJECTIVE. To analyze the generation and treatment of wastewater resulting from industrial operations in terms of current expenditure and investment made by manufacturing industries in Ecuador. METHOD. The numerical data are cross-sectional, for which three levels of research were covered: descriptive, correlational and explanatory. The database of the environmental economic information module in companies (ENESEM) of the year 2020 was used. RESULTS. 53.2% of Ecuadorian manufacturing industries allocated resources in current expenditures to prevent surface water pollution by reducing the release of wastewater (including wastewater collection and treatment) and only 4.5% allocated resources in investment for the treatment of this water. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. The activities that presented the highest level of correlation with current expenditure were wastewater treated, wastewater generated and the amount of water captured from natural sources. In this sense, manufacturing companies should focus their efforts on issues related to the generation and treatment of wastewater from their productive activities.