Tuesday, September 02, 2008 Avila sounds off alarm on state of ground water
DAVAO City Councilor Leo Avila III said the ground water supply has already reached a critical state such that the need to tap surface water has never been more urgent than it is now.
"There is a higher level of urgency why the surface water must be tapped," the councilor who also happens to be an environmental advocate said during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao's Cafe Rysus Monday.
The Davao City Water District reported last month that it has been drilling ground water at a much deeper source than in the previous years.
Ground water is now being drilled at depths of at least 200 to 250 meters below ground, a far cry from its previous depths of only 100 to 150 meters.
"The National Water Regulatory Board has declared Davao City to be one of the critical cities in the country in terms of its utilization of ground water," Avila added.
Currently, the water utility is extracting over 212,000 cubic meters of ground water daily or a total of 78 million cubic meters of ground water annually.
"Tamugan river can supply the demand of the water district, and it has the quality of water that is needed," Avila said. (CPM)
