DENR: No ECC yet to Lumbo water project

MANILA, Philippines — The proposed Lumbo Spring Bulk Water Supply Project in Dolores, Quezon has not been granted an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) amid mounting opposition from various stakeholders, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

In a letter to Tiaong, Quezon Mayor Ramon Preza dated March 31, DENR-Environment Management Bureau (EMB) CALABARZON director Noemi Paranada confirmed that Udenna Water Integrated Inc. does not have a valid ECC for the project after the agency denied their application last November 2021.

The DENR-EMB’s letter was in response to Preza’s call for the DENR to restrain the ongoing implementation of the project due to the lack of an ECC and the lack of public consultations with the affected downstream users.

“We have been made aware that no ECC has been issued prior to any of their construction activities.

We believe that this project poses an imminent environmental threat not only to the communities within the immediate vicinity of the project, but also to our municipality downstream,” Preza said.

Preza noted that before any resource extractive activity is undertaken, there must be a public consultation wherein all stakeholders are given the opportunity to discuss their concerns on the project.

“With the proposed extraction of water from Lumbo Spring, our farmers are gravely concerned about how this will negatively impact their livelihood and food production in the region,” he said.

Based on an earlier letter of denial to Udenna Water. Paranada said the company’s ECC application was denied “due to mounting opposition from various stakeholders in the area”.

She emphasized that the issues and concerns raised by the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) and concerned irrigators should be addressed prior to the issuance of an ECC.

The project will tap water from the Lumbo Spring located in Dolores, Quezon to provide potable water to be distributed by the two adjacent water districts, particularly the San Pablo City Water District and the Dolores Water District.

Preza said that farmers depend on water from the mountains of Mt. Banahaw in Quezon for their crops. The town of Dolores lies near the foot of Mt. Banahaw.

Aside from the mountain range, the said water flows into rivers and streams that benefit hundreds of hectares of rice fields and other high value crops in its town before it flows to the neighboring municipalities of San Antonio and San Juan, Batangas to Tayabas Bay.

Preza said the reduction of water supply and gradual stoppage of its flow in the rivers has already been observed to have a significant impact on the cultivation of rice, high value crops and animal husbandry in more than half of the barangays of Tiaong.

“Farmers will be even more concerned about the slowdown or reduction of water flow if water from its main source is reduced and made available to other provinces,” he added.

Apart from the LGU of Tiaong, NIA also released a position paper on behalf of its farmer beneficiaries, opposing the completion of the Lumbo Spring Bulk Water Supply Project given the already significant decline in water discharge which is expected to worsen due to the Lumbo water extraction.

“There is a clear threat of irrigation water shortage due to the increasing number of water users both for domestic and agricultural use. The SPCWD-DWD proposed water project and the continuous decrease of water discharge will jeopardize the government’s thrust towards food security and will decrease farmers’ potential income,” the NIA said.

In November 2020, SPCWD and DWD jointly issued a notice of award to the Consortium of Udenna Water Inclam, S.A. and Optimus Engineering and Construction to build the P103 million Lumbo Spring Bulk Water Supply Project through a public-private partnership (PPP) scheme.

The Udenna consortium will design, construct, and install raw water intake structures, treated water reservoirs, conveyance systems, pumping stations, metered interconnections facilities to SPCWD in Laguna and DWD in Quezon. The maintenance of the pipelines will remain within the SPCWD and DWD.

Under the 25-year contract, the Udenna consortium is expected to supply treated bulk water of 12,000 cubic meters per day to both San Pablo City and Dolores water districts.