MEXICO CITY - Water supplies in Latin America are in danger of contamination as 86 percent of the region's sewage is poured out untreated, the Latin American Water Tribunal (TLA) warned Tuesday.

There are 103 million people in the region living without sewage systems and 153,000 people die annually of diseases related to water contamination, the TLA Scientific Committee spokesman Ricardo Valverde told media.

He said 77 million Latin Americans do not have access to drinking water, with two thirds of them living in rural zones.

Haiti is the country most affected by the lack of water, with an average of only three liters of potable water available per inhabitant per day, Valverde added.

Since South America is a continent with rich water resources, and accounts for 41 percent of the world's water reserves, "the water crisis in the region is not taken seriously, " said TLA President Javier Bogantes.

Water is not a priority for the politicians," which leaves supplies in the hands of private enterprises, he said.