Inland water bodies in Chile can locally increase rainfall intensity

► We evaluated possible effects of water bodies on rainfall intensity. ► We considered different climates for our study. ► We considered return periods of 5 and 100years. ► We compared locations near and away from water reservoirs. ► Our results indicate strong influences of water bodies on dryer climates. Analysis of precipitation observations from Chile indicated that man-made water reservoirs might be affecting the intensity of extreme precipitation events. Fifty rain gauges were used to evaluate rainfall intensities under different climates, using the Gumbel method (T=5 and 100years) and average maximum recorded rainfall intensities to construct IDF curves for each station. A spatial analysis of the stations was undertaken to establish graphical relationships on documented maximum annual rainfall intensities for 1h and those obtained by the Gumbel method as a function of latitude, longitude, elevation, and the distance from water bodies. The Mann–Whitney U test was applied with an error of 5%. Values obtained from stations located close to water bodies were compared to those located away from them. The results show significant changes in dryer climates.