(CNN Philippines) — The Iloilo City Council placed the city under a state of “imminent water crisis” on Tuesday (April 21) due to water shortage induced by the El Niño phenomenon.
Many shallow wells in the city are in the brink of drying up causing worries as the El Niño is expected to last until the middle of the year.
Related: Tourism, agriculture bear brunt of El Niño
The declaration was made through a resolution passed during the council’s regular session.
The resolution also empowered the city council to approve the release of P3 million to address the water crisis as requested by the Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC).
Maasin Watershed, which is the main surface water source of the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD), is also depleting.
The dip in Maasin’s water production — from 54,000 cubic meters daily to 39,000 — prompted the MIWD to ration water since April 16.
On Monday (April 20), MIWD said that it has tapped the Maynilad Water Services, Inc. — a water and waste water services provider in the west zone of Metro Manila — to augment water services in its service area.
MIWD serves over 30,000 consumers in Iloilo City and six towns of Iloilo province.
The city government expressed plans to use the fund primarily to deliver water to villages with no supply from the MIWD.
