IN accordance with the annual progression of seasons in the Philippines, we will soon be in the middle of the hot rainless summer months. Last year, we had people in the Manila Water-served eastern part of Metro Manila lining up with pails for water from firetrucks as the water in Angat Dam hit emergency levels and the Metro Manila Waterworks System (MMWS) limited the supply of water to the area. The rains started falling only in June, filling Angat Dam to its normal levels.
During the hot months, several decisions were made to help avert another water shortage. The government approved the revival of the Wawa Dam to add its supply to that of the Angat Dam. A new Kaliwa Dam will be built in Quezon and Rizal provinces with Chinese government assistance. This had long been opposed on the ground that it would inundate the communities of native Dumagat-Remontados, but President Duterte said they will be assisted in moving to new sites, as the greater need of water for Metro Manila must be met.
In Congress, bills were filed to help solve this annual water supply problem. One filed by Camarines Sur Rep. Lray Villafuerte calls on land developers to provide for rainwater-saving systems to help meet the worsening water problem.
The new dams with their treatment and delivery systems will take years to complete. Kaliwa Dam, in particular, will be ready only in 2023. Thus this year and next year, we may have the same problem as last year, unless we can rush smaller projects such as drilling of more deep wells and tapping Laguna de Bay.
Last Sunday, we featured a rainwater harvesting partnership program between Hyundai Motor Co. of Korea and Tanay, Rizal, initiated by the HARI Foundation. For two years now, the project has been processing rainwater which is now being distributed in various barangays. “We should pursue the project to bring clean water to more communities,” HARI Foundation President Maria Fe Perez Agudo said. She hopes to spread the success of the project to other parts of the country.
Rainwater harvesting is actually an ancient practice, with cisterns to store water dated to 40,000 BC found in the Levant in Southwest Asia. Many ancient cisterns have also been discovered in Israel and the nearby island of Crete, in farming communities in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran dated to 300 BC. Rainwater harvesting was said to be common during the ancient Roman Empire.
Today some communities have started implementing rainwater harvesting systems in Canada, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, United Kingdom, China, Argentina, and Brazil. In the Irrawaddy Delta of Myanmar where the ground water is saline, many communities rely on rainwater ponds for drinking water in the dry season.
Rains fill our dams, including Angat, which is our main source of water in Metro Manila, but the fast-growing population has led to shortages in the summer months. Meanwhile, most of our rain water continues to be wasted, flooding our lowlands before flowing out to sea.
We really should save more of it, not only with our dams, but also with other working systems such as the program initiated by HARI Foundation with Korea’s Hyundai company now serving the people of Tanay, Rizal.
