Every drop counts

We drink it, cook with it, and bathe in it. Water touches every aspect of our daily lives. But as our economy and cities grow, we need vigorous action to ensure there’s enough of this precious resource to go around.

The Philippines needs sustainable water solutions to sharpen its competitive edge in industries like tourism and agriculture. Clean water is crucial for the poor, who continue to suffer health problems from contaminated water sources. There’s an economic toll to consider too, with losses from subpar sanitation alone tallying P78 billion annually. Most of the burden falls on the poor through lost work and income.

Like many monsoonal countries the Philippines is inundated with water, with twice as much available water as the rest of Asia per head of population. There has been good progress in shoring up this endowment. Recent partnerships between the public and private sectors are transforming water supply across the country. Initiatives like the new Bulacan Bulk Water Supply project, the planned unified financing framework, and the review of the National Sewerage and Septage Management Program, will expand water services and help to put them on a sustainable footing.

Now it’s time for even bolder action to secure and expand our water resources, and to reverse the pollution of our rivers and waterways. This is a national challenge that demands comprehensive solutions.

The key questions are how to ensure water security and get water to those who need it most. Our growing and rapidly urbanizing population requires greater investment – public and private – to ensure existing water sources are used efficiently and new ones developed, and to properly collect and treat sewage. Smart planning and vigorous reforms are needed to align central and local government initiatives in order to reach the government’s goal of water and sanitation access for all. Also needed are more awareness-raising campaigns on the importance of sanitation, watershed protection, and sustainable water tariffs.

Already, there has been some striking progress. In the 1990s, less than half of Metro Manila’s residents were connected to the water supply system; less than a third enjoyed 24-hour supply. Today, two concessionaires provide water to 86 percent of the population, with 78 percent enjoying continuous supply. Extensive repairs reduced the amount of water lost by leakage and pilferage from over 60 percent to as low as 11 percent.

Enough water has been saved in this way to meet rising demand. But it won’t be enough for much longer.

Fast-rising demand – with nearly all water coming from the Angat reservoir and relying on transmission tunnels that are up to 75 years old and in poor condition – has increased the risk of a water supply breakdown. The risk of natural disaster makes the need for action even more urgent.

New resources being developed at Kaliwa Low Dam are welcome, but won’t come online for some years, making upgrades to the Angat system imperative. In March, ADB approved a $123.3 million loan to construct an urgently needed six-km tunnel linking with a new aqueduct, to ensure continued supply while other parts of the system are modernized. More efforts are needed to reduce water pollution from domestic waste, with only 11 percent sewerage coverage and existing treatment facilities under-utilized.

Outside the capital, the situation is much more pressing. Less than half the population has access to piped water. Almost all cities and municipalities rely primarily on septic tanks, often poorly constructed and maintained and not regularly emptied; sludge collected is usually discharged untreated, posing great risks to water resources and to public health.   

About two-thirds of piped water connections outside Metro Manila are provided by around 500 corporatized water districts across the country. Many are small and under-funded given the limited resources of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), which provides them with finance and technical assistance.

Through a $60 million loan to LWUA, announced in April, ADB is helping to bridge these deficits. As a result, numerous water districts will be able to expand and rehabilitate their water supply systems; a core group will get long-term loan-and-grant packages to meet sanitation challenges. Some of the money is likely to go to Bulacan to help its water districts upgrade leaking networks and expand so they can distribute water from the new bulk water project.

The challenge now is to move faster toward sustainable water use, especially outside Manila. Comprehensive policies and planning are critical for water resource management. Much more investment is required and more alliances needed between central and local governments, public and private sector, as well as communities and utilities.

As an island nation, water is our birthright. By working together, we can ensure we make the most of it.

* * *

(Tatiana Gallego-Lizon is director at the urban development and water division of ADB’s Southeast Asia Department.)