‘Water wastage mostly comes from households’

MANILA, Philippines — An official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said that households are the biggest contributors of water wastage, amid the call from the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) to regulate the operation of car wash, golf courses and swimming pools.

In a radio interview, DILG Central Office Disaster Information Center director Edgar Allan Tabell cited the results of the assessment on the previous task forces created to address the impact of the El Niño, which showed that bulk of the unnecessary use of water comes from residential areas.

“Based on the assessment, the water wastage from the water recreational centers, car wash, swimming pools was not that big as most of them practice recycling and they purify water. It showed that the consumption is bigger due to unnecessary use of water in the households,” Tabell yesterday said.

MWSS Deputy Administrator Jose Dorado Jr. has urged Metro Manila mayors to pass ordinances to regulate the use of golf courses, car wash and swimming pools to address dwindling water from the Angat Dam.

“We are preparing now with the help of PCO (Philippine Communications Office), the content of the campaign to educate families on how to conserve water,” he said.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. has earlier directed all governors, mayors, barangays, including the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and regional directors to prepare for the El Niño phenomenon to mitigate its impact in their respective areas.

The DILG heads the new El Niño Team created by President Marcos amid the threat of the dry spell.