Time and water is running out

These days, even with the onslaught of typhoons, monsoon rains, and tropical depressions, water shortages and rationing in Metro Manila continue to happen, something that had been unheard of in previous wet season months.

In a couple of months, summer will be upon us, aggravating the low water levels of Angat Dam which for 52 years has been the primary source of water used for drinking and sanitation of a growing metropolis.

For such a serious problem, the need to augment the increasingly inadequate water supply sources for Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces is not being given the prompt attention it deserves from both the national and local governments.

With certainty, we are seeing a developing crisis that can only be blamed on the callousness of government to act quickly and decisively. Putting the blame on Metro Manila’s two water concessionaires is unjust, especially since both had been warning of this problem more than five years ago.

Much delayed

It is time to seriously look at the next best option, rather than just wait for the controversies surrounding the groundbreaking of the Kaliwa Dam project to be resolved and to disappear.

The government has been attempting, since the 1970s, to tap the Sierra Madre’s Kaliwa Watershed Forest Reserve as an additional water source for Metro Manila, and eventually, the rapidly urbanizing provinces of Rizal, Bulacan, and Pampanga.

Strong protests by environment groups, indigenous peoples, and even scientists, however, have contributed to stalling the project construction’s schedule, even under the current populist leadership of President Duterte, in spite the availability of official development assistance from the Chinese government.

As it now stands, even if the project were to start early next year, assuming that Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) is able to secure approval of the National Commission on Indigenous People, this massive P12-billion project will only be completed at best in five years.

By that time, Metro Manila could be bone dry. Plan B

Maynilad Water Services, Inc. and Manila Water Company, MWSS’s water concessionaires, are now seriously looking at Plan B, although this may similarly come a bit late given the current predicament of Angat Dam’s below-normal levels.

The alternative plan is to draw more water from Laguna de Bay by building more treatment plants capable of purifying the polluted lake water to within acceptable standards that conform to world standards set by the World Health Organization.

Maynilad has two treatment plants already drawing water from Laguna Lake, while Manila Water has one in Cardona, Rizal. Both operate complex treatment plants designed to process suspended solids, organic water, algae and dissolved solids prevalent in the lake.

Maynilad is building a third plant in January, and has plans to build another one if the construction of the Kaliwa Dam does not start in 2021. Manila Water, on the other hand, is expecting the second phase of its Cardona plant to be operational by August.

Manila Water and Maynilad are also both eyeing to set up portable treatment plants that will process water from the Marikina River. The Wawa Dam project in Rodriguez, Rizal is pushing ahead, and will likely be ready by 2021 to provide Manila Water with 80 million liters per day (MLD), and 500 MLD in 2025.

Temporary measures

Most likely in the next two years, especially if the water levels at Angat Dam and Ipo Dam continue to be below spilling levels, rotational water rationing will continue for Metro Manila residents.

It may be time again to remind people how best to conserve water until adequate sources of raw water are developed and channeled to Metro Manila’s private water concessionaires for distribution to their customers.

Local governments have a role to play too. There are many models of urban living that take into consideration the management of rainwater, not only by enabling its collection for use in public gardens and spaces, but also to deter flooding especially in low-lying areas.

Industries, especially those that rely heavily on water for their manufacturing processes, should be encouraged to include the concept of water sustainability in their production designs.

We must also realize that pollution does not only destroy water, it also makes it more expensive. An example of this is Laguna Lake, where filtering its water to safe standards can run up to billions of pesos in investments. In the end, consumers have to pay for that higher cost.

Mismanaged water resource

Meanwhile, Congress is working to create a Department of Water that will oversee the country’s water resources.

Luckily, the Philippines is not among the countries that face a real danger of water scarcity or heavy pollution. Ours is more a case of mismanagement, when laws governing waterways and watersheds are not properly implemented, and where there is no single propelling force that will champion the correct management of the country’s abundant water wealth.

Laguna Lake, for example, does not lack in rules and regulations designed to protect its ecosystem and preserve it as a source of potable water for its surrounding environs. And yet, such laws are blatantly disregarded by industries, communities, and even local governments that continue to dump their toxic wastes in the lake.

We have seen this happen in Boracay Island and the Pasig River, and while these have had successful campaigns at rehabilitation, there are many more areas in the country, like Manila Bay, that are threatened by pollution.

Let’s hope that the recent water problems of Metro Manila will teach the nation the value of water, and just how precious it is in our everyday lives.

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