ANGELES City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. has underscored the need to conserve water for future generations.

The mayor said the City Government, in cooperation with environment groups, has initiated programs to rehabilitate the water shed in Barangay Sapangbato.

Lazatin has assigned the City Environment and Natural Resources Office, led by Archie Lazatin, to plant an additional of 9,576 fruit-bearing trees at the Angeles City Watershed in Sapangbato.

"We want to plant more trees at our watershed areas to protect the environment and ensure sufficient water supply in the future," Lazatin said.

The additional seedlings were donated by the Department of Transportation (DOTr), he said.

Lazatin said the seedlings will be planted with the assistance of Angeles Watershed Advocacy Council Inc. (Araw-ACI), led by businessman and environmentalist Renato Tayag.

The City Government has received a total of 13,896 seedlings from the DOTr. This is part of the long-term plan of Lazatin to plant 45,000 more trees at the watershed to increase water reserves, which will benefit the city and the Metro Clark area.

"Having water is a must. These efforts being done at the present time will help conserve water for the use of future generations," Lazatin said.

"Isa lang naman po ang goal natin, ang maseguro ang kapakanan ng ating mga kababayan, habang pinangangalagaan ang kalikasan," he added.