Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 10) — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the country still has enough water supply, but proper management is needed to prevent a possible water crisis by the end of the year.
“Meron pa namang tubig, hindi pa naman tayo nandon sa [We still have water supply, we haven’t reached the situation in]…2019, this was the last water crisis that we had,” DENR Undersecretary Carlos David told CNN Philippines’ The Source on Monday.
“There will be a water crisis towards the end of the year if we do not get our acts together in the next few months,” he warned.
National Water Resources Board (NWRB) Executive Director Sevillo David Jr. on July 8 said the allocation for water concessionaires in Metro Manila was decreased from 50 cubic meters per second (CMS) to 48 cms after the water level in Angat Dam fell below its minimum operating level of 180 meters.
Speaking to CNN Philippines’ Balitaan, Sevillo said this may be decreased again after authorities review the water level of Angat Dam in a week.
Angat Dam’s water level is currently at 179.23 meters, according to the latest data from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
To prevent a similar incident in 2019, wherein thousands of households in Metro Manila and some parts of Rizal had to go through long periods of water interruptions, David emphasized the need to manage the current water supply.
The Water Resources Management Office (WRMO) of the DENR earlier issued Bulletin No. 1, providing guidelines to administrators of government buildings to conduct proper water management.
This was followed by the issuance of Bulletin No. 2 that expanded the directive to cover barangay officials as well as condominium and subdivision managers. They were ordered to advise residents to conserve water by lessening activities that consume a lot of water, promoting rainwater collection, and recycling water.
Citing the directive, David said a government employee should only consume up to 50 liters of water per day or 1.5 cubic meters per month in the office.
A person in a household, meanwhile, should not consume more than 180 liters per day or 5.4 cubic meters per month, he noted.
By comparing this with the actual consumption seen in a water bill, specifically for households, people may monitor if they are still within these levels or if they are already consuming more, David said.
The NWRB also said water concessionaires and the government are implementing augmentation measures to lessen the impact of long hours of service interruption in Metro Manila. It includes recovering water in treatment facilities, rehabilitating pipelines, and using of deep wells.
