MCWD cites urbanization, competition: People behind water deficit

CEBU, Philippines - Key personalities of the Metropolitan Cebu Water District said while their water sources have been slowly recovering from the prolonged dry spell brought about by the 2015 to 2016 El Niño episode, Metro Cebu continues to suffer from water deficit.

This was attributed to human activities such as the peripheral urbanization in the watershed areas and the competing water use among hundreds of water suppliers.

If water use continues to be managed loosely and local communities refuse to take action, MCWD officials warn the water problem in Metro Cebu will grow into an alarming state.

MCWD officials were the guests last Friday afternoon during the Facebook-live roundtable discussion hosted by The FREEMAN editorial.

To illustrate the current situation on water use and extraction in Metro Cebu, MCWD Community Relations Manager Charmaine Kara showed a picture of a glass, which represents a water source, with several straws sticking out.

She said the straws represent the around 150 water suppliers in Metro Cebu that continue to use and extract water at present. Kara said MCWD has experts to monitor the quality of the extracted water from its pumping wells since saltwater may damage the water pumps once it enters the wells.

She said, however, most of the private well owners have less capability to control their own operation, leading to unregulated water extraction.

Kara said MCWD made an inventory of all groundwater wells in three highly-urbanized cities  — Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, and Mandaue —  and it showed that MCWD shares only 35 percent of the groundwater extraction while the rest belong to private water suppliers.

Engineer Raul Tabasa, OIC-assistant general manager for operations, said some private water suppliers do not monitor the level of salinity in the water they are extracting.

Tabasa said the National Water Resources Board has the regulatory function over the water sector in the country when it comes to water resources and potable water.

However, the agency is based in Manila and does not have satellite offices outside Metro Manila, making it inconvenient for people to raise their concerns on water utilization and exploitation.

Considering the loose regulation, MCWD Production Division Manager Rebecca Husayan said the saltwater intrusion in Cebu City has reached the area of Cebu Business Park.

Kara said MCWD was able to simulate the saltwater intrusion if users in Metro Cebu continue to utilize water uncontrollably. It projected that by 2030, saltwater will intrude as far as the area near the foothills of Barangay Talamban in Cebu City.

Husayan said this projection should alarm Metro Cebu and they should consider the future generations.

Effects of urbanization

Cebu City has developed dramatically into a business hub where commercial establishments and residential properties have been mushrooming from the urban areas and even to the mountain barangays.

These developments, however, have also contributed to the problem of recharging groundwater sources since rainwater cannot easily seep through concrete.

Husayan said the water sources of MCWD had been recovering slowly after the prolonged dry spell but only for some, particularly the surface water sources, since others like groundwater wells are still keeping up.

"Our pumping stations or groundwater sources are actually the ones really slowly recovering because it will take around six to eight months for our groundwater to recover after an El Niño. Recharging is quite slow because the rain is not really that persistent," she said.

Husayan added some service connections also are having difficulty getting water because they are located in sloped or elevated areas like barangays Lahug and Guadalupe.

"If the demand is quite high, we cannot build the necessary pressure with the water in those areas to be in 24 hours, they can only have water in off-peak hours," she said.

Considering the topographical contour of Cebu City, Husayan said rainwater from the mountains will just sweep through the city heading to the open sea because watersheds, which were supposed to catch rainwater from the mountains, have been converted into subdivisions.

She said the watersheds must be conserved and people must plant more trees.

"If you notice with other countries, their watersheds are heavily protected and forested. The only way you can save the water is planting trees since their roots hold the water and keep the soil together," she said.

On top of all the concerns, the increasing population in Metro Cebu is also contributing to the growing demand for water.   To keep pace with the increasing water demand, MCWD has formulated a plan to tap other sources of water to increase safe water coverage and narrow the gap between demand and supply. The sourcing plan includes partnering with other private bulk water suppliers and adapting desalination technology. (FREEMAN)