|
Thursday, January 22, 2004
GMA calms public on Metro water crisis
MANILA -- President Arroyo on Wednesday urged the public to remain calm and to be united in the light of a looming water crisis in Metro Manila and nearby areas.
Arroyo said several government agencies, including local government units (LGUs), are already preparing measures to cushion the negative effects of such a crisis.
"We shall continue to deliver water to the poorest communities that are hardest hit by the crisis," she added.
But Environment Sec. Elisea Gozun said there is no water crisis yet and the government would do its best to prevent it from happening.
She said the government just wants the people to be prepared in case a water crisis happens as summer nears.
Gozun said as of Wednesday morning, the water level at the Angat dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan--the main water source for Metro Manila and nearby provinces--is at 198.49 meters, which is way above the 180 meters critical level.
She added the government is undertaking measures to address the water supply issue.
Under "supply measures", the government started its cloud-seeding program last week. The measure would run for 20 days.
Another plan is to tap existing groundwater resources with ample supply in portions of Bulacan, Pampanga and in Metro Manila and existing deep wells around Luzon to augment the supply in Angat.
Gozun said four groundwater sources have been identified, which include the water source for Caloocan, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Manila and portions of Quezon City area; the reservoir for Angono, Teresa and Antipolo, all in Rizal; the supply source for Valenzuela and Malabon; and for the other half of Quezon City and San Jose Del Monte area in Bulacan.
"We are seriously looking at desalination. This means treating saltwater or brackish-water to the level that we can use them," she said.
Gozun said there is an existing desalination plant within the Sucat Power Plant in Parañaque City that can treat up to 4,000 cubic meters of water daily. The plant was closed down in 2000 and treated water coming from the Laguna Lake.
She said the National Power Company (Napocor) met with officials of the Cebu-based Mactan Rock Inc. (MRI) to discuss about reviving the plant and possibly handling the supply for commercial establishments.
The MRI, which would spend about P7 million to P8 million to get the plant running again, is expected to sell the treated water at a price comparable to the cost charged by water companies at present.
The DENR is also urging companies that treat their wastewater before discarding it so that it can be used for gardening and watering of islands and parks.
Efforts to find other possible sources of water outside the service area of Metro Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) from Bataan to Laguna, is also being conducted.
To address the demand issue, infomercials calling for the conservation of water and for the public to report leaks and illegal connections would be aired soon to entice the public to avoid wasting water.
The infomercials are the same ads used in 2001 during the El Niño and would only be revived by the Philippine Information Agency.
The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said earlier that the absence of tropical cyclones in northern and central Luzon since October was the main reason for the reservoir's low water level.
"Usually, Luzon experiences an average of about two tropical cyclones in October, making it possible to impound a large volume of water in the area. Also in November and December, the paths of the tropical cyclones that entered the country were far to the south of Central Luzon," explained Nathaniel Cruz, a Pagasa meteorologist.
Cruz noted the weather in the next four to five months normally brings rains only to the eastern coast of Luzon, the Visayas, and northern Mindanao.
To conserve the limited water reserves, the NWRB and DENR asked the MWSS and the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) to reduce their respective water requirement by five percent this month.
Early estimates showed that the reduction will affect the water supply of about 80,000 households or an equivalent of 480,000 people.ST
(January 22, 2004 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
|
|
 |
| click
to comment on this article or discuss it with other readers |
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Tsinoy from Taiwan under Sars watch