The water issue tragedy

“SHAPE up or ship out!”

In confronting Metro Manila’s water czars, a fuming President Rodrigo Duterte had expressed his dismay over the way the country’s most valuable wa­ter resources are being man­aged.

The water problem in Met­ro Manila is not just about shortage of supply; it also drumbeats the fact that as the need for potable water increases in the metropolis, the underground water ta­bles suffer from irreversible depletion due to excessive extraction.

With the country’s national capital region experiencing a progressive socio-economic boom, the amount of water needed to sustains its viabili­ty puts in focus the matter of demand and supply. Indus­trial demand for the precious commodity in factories and economic zones has risen to rival the expanding demand for it for condominiums and subdivisions.

Water shortage in Metro Manila, as a matter of public knowledge, is an amalgam of issues that is compounded by a hodgepodge of inde­cisions and indiscretions. Those tasked to oversee public well-being have taken the high hill to view the land­scape but have not felt and seen the problems that lurk under their feet.

Water supply shortage is more than just about drinking, washing, bathing and cleaning. It happens because those who guard the forests look the other way when forests are being stripped of trees, and those who secure the ecology care little about the trash that suffocates and eventually kills the waterways.

In government, our water supply guardians have long been accused of lacking foresight. The current water shortage in Metro Manila is more than just the outcome of neglect; it is in fact an af­firmation that state planners, especially administrators and managers, prefer their lav­ish offices than soiling their hands in water dams.

As the country joins the roster of actively industrial­izing countries, the lack of water to run industries and supply housing enclaves will have far-reaching impact on our overall economic growth. For settlements to rise, pota­ble water is essential, in the same way that investments in soft drinks and beverages ventures are dependent on water for production.

The issue of water is more than just a domestic concern; in ancient times, it caused wars. Hydrology experts pre­dict that water deficit will be a major source of conflict in the future. It’s a fact that can be mitigated but at a tragic cost to poorer nations.