Government should hike water infra budget

MANILA, Philippines - The government should improve the budget for water infrastructure and implement practical local government interventions such as rainwater collection, Senator Edgardo Angara said Friday.

This as he expressed alarm over the water shortage in many parts of Metro Manila, caused by a severely depleted Angat Dam, which currently experien-ces its lowest water level in history.

“It seems ironic that while we experience continuing rains, our water supply continues to dwindle. The solution to our water problem is not instant or cursory. It requires extensive changes in the way we manage our country’s resources and how we consume them,” said Angara who chairs the Senate Committee on Science and Technology.

The Asian Development Bank warned back in 2007, the Philippine’s clean water supply could be depleted by 2025 if we do not start cleaning up our act and invest more in water management and infrastructure. Manila, home to 12 million people, is one of nine major cities identified as “water critical”. The other eight are Metro Cebu, Davao, Baguio, Angeles, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga.

Angara said there’s an existing law that mandates the collection of rainwater in barangays to ensure the provision of fresh water.

“This covers the entire process, from catchment, to treatment and distribution. They do this in India, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, and it has proven quite effective. Why shouldn’t we implement the same, especially since we get an abundance of rain?” he said.

He also said that technology evolves at its fastest rate in human history.

“Through innovation, technology now offers solutions to relieve water stress or the overuse of water that leads to the deterioration of both quantity and quality of water available and making water use more sustainable,” he said.

Angara noted that United States allocated $16 billion for water-related projects in its stimulus package.

“Our ailing water management and infrastructure system needs to be urgently reviewed and revamped. Every minute of inaction prolongs and compounds the problem of overexploitation and unsustainable use of water, a vital but increasingly limited resource,” said Angara who called for advanced research in water management and solve the prevailing problem.

He urged the Aquino administration to set aside funds for improving water infrastructure in the country especially if similar problems arise again in the future.