Dam if we do, dam if we don’t
Pardon the pun, wholly intended. The metro’s recurring problem is back, and with a vengeance. La Mesa Dam just recorded its lowest level in years. A picture of the banks of mud tell all. The dam is part of the Angat-Ipo-La Mesa Dam system which is the main source of water of Metro Manila. One cannot undermine the importance of this dam. La Mesa Dam serves as a bucket before water is made potable for us to drink, and well, for water bottle companies to make a living. The Balara and La Mesa water treatment plants receive water to undergo its filtration processes. At present, water levels are still acceptable at the Angat and Ipo Dams, but water cannot be supplied to La Mesa Dam just like that, as they also irrigate farms in Luzon.
What the La Mesa Dam needs is rain. It is basically a watershed area in Quezon City. But we're just entering a summer that is going to be long and hot, due to El Niño. The dry season may be prolonged by months. It hasn’t really rained that much in the past months, even during the rainy season. I don’t think I read about the dam nearing its spilling level. Authorities have been issuing warnings about a dry spell for weeks. It is now upon us. Some places are already complaining of dry taps or low pressure. Manila Water has already released a schedule for water interruptions and low pressure. Of all the essentials that we need, water is at the top. There is only so much you can do without water. All we can do is pray for rain. Where is a weak, rainy typhoon when you need one?
A plan to build a new dam for Metro Manila has been going on for decades. This is the Kaliwa Dam. Located in the province of Quezon, the dam will cost $12.2 billion, where more than $10 billion will come from a Chinese loan, and $2 billion from the national government. The two existing water companies favor the construction of the new dam to augment the already massive water needs of Metro Manila.
However, there are those opposing the said dam. According to Catholic bishops and environmentalists, the indigenous Dumagat people who have lived in the Sierra Madre mountain range for millennia would be uprooted. If the dam is to be constructed, it would sit in top of an active fault line, endangering those who would live downstream of the river. The proposed builders of the dam state the dam can withstand a strong earthquake. I wonder if they would be willing to live downstream, just to prove a point. The usual caveat regarding Chinese loans also surface. There is no argument that Metro Manila needs more water. But it is imperative that everything must be taken into account and weighed, before actually starting to build another dam. The fact that this project has been in the doldrums for decades may be significant, funding notwithstanding. Hence the pun.
- Latest
