“Conserving water should be everybody’s concern. The water you save now can make the lives of future Filipinos better and safer.” – Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero III, an academician at the National Academy of Science and Technology
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In 2003, during the observance of World Environment Day, the international community espoused this slogan: “Water: Two billion people are dying for it!”
Davao City, the country’s largest urbanite in terms of land area, doesn’t have too many residents yet but some will soon experience waking up without water flowing from their faucets.
“Davao City will soon be running short of supply of potable water if the Davao City Water District (DCWD) won’t be able to find a new source in the next three years as the demand continue to increase due to rapid growth in population,” wrote Cheneen R. Capon in her news report last year when she was still with EDGE Davao.
Capon quoted Atty. Bernardo Delima, Jr., the DCWD official spokesperson, as saying: “There’s a necessity to look for another source of water.”
Every month, the number of new customers increased an average of 2,000.
“Water demand in the city is expected to reach 117 million cubic meters three years for now, higher than the 112 million cubic meters’ annual requirement of the city,” Capon wrote.
In a study done by the Japan International Cooperation Agency some years back, Davao City was one of the nine major cities in the country that were listed as “water-critical areas.” The other eight were Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Baguio, Angeles, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga.
Senator Loren Legarda, in a recent privilege speech, considered water as “one of the most basic needs of our existence” and yet Filipinos take it for granted. “Man can live for several weeks without food, but a few days without water would be detrimental to one’s health,” she pointed out. “Our body, after all, is made up of about 60-70% water.”
Don Hinrichsen, who has written some of the most extensive reports on water, described water as a renewable resource. “It circulates on earth in what is known as the hydrological cycle,” he said.
“Starting with rain which falls on the sea or land in tropical areas,” he explained, “water is absorbed by humus (decayed organic matter) on the floor of rainforests, trickles down to underground from the highlands through streams and rivers to the seas. Water returns to the air through evaporation from soil and catch basins or by way of transpiration from living organisms.”
Next to air, water is the element most necessary for survival. “Water is the most precious asset on Earth,” Dr. Sandra Postel, director of the Massachusetts-based Global Water Policy Project, said. “It is the basis of life.”
The Earth is composed of two-thirds water. “But not all of the water is suitable for human consumption – 97% is seawater, and while there is 3% freshwater, most of this is frozen and only 0.5% is the freshwater available for us through aquifers, rainfall, natural lakes, rivers and reservoirs,” Legarda said.
The Philippines, with more than 7,000 islands, is surrounded by water. “The image of water-rich Philippines is a mirage,” declared Gregory C. Ira, who used to be the head of the Water Equity in the Lifescape and Landscape Study (WELLS) program of the Silang-based International Institute of Rural Reconstruction. “There is a water crisis in the Philippines, one of the wettest countries of Southeast Asia.”
The water crisis is more transparent in Metro Manila, home to more than 10 million Filipinos, especially during the summer months. “The water shortages in Metro Manila are caused by many factors,” said Dr. Rafael D. Guererro III, an academician with the National Academy of Science and Technology.
These include enormous demand for water by people and industries, the depletion of groundwater due to overpumping, the denudation of watersheds in catch basins, pollution of surface waters as a result of urbanization, and seawater intrusion into groundwater stores.
But most of the water are being consumed by agriculture, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. To produce one kilogram of rice, for instance, 5,000 liters of water is needed, according to the International Rice Research Institute.
Several studies show that agriculture accounts for 65% of total withdrawals (mostly for irrigating crops). Industry (particularly manufacturing), with 24%, comes next. The remaining 7% supplies the domestic and municipal needs.
Experts say the world’s population now uses nearly five times as much water each year as it did in 1950. “In theory, the 9,000 cubic kilometers of water available for human use could easily satisfy this demand,’ wrote Jonathan Porritt in his book, Save the Earth.
But many are now experiencing water shortage. “Massive urban and industrial growth is creating unprecedented demands,” said Ismail Serageldin, who was once the vice-president of the World Bank. “We must adopt a proactive approach,” he added. “Current trends demonstrate that the reactive approaches of the past cannot continue.”
Actually, Filipinos can save water if all try to conserve this precious asset. Now take a closer look at that tiny piece of rubber found in the bathroom taps and kitchen faucets. It’s called washer and it is one of a range of low-tech devices with a big part to play in reducing losses of water.
A leaky tap, dripping every second, may seem like a drop in the ocean, but studies have found out that it wastes well over 4 liters a day. Over a month, a seriously leaking tap can lose as much as 10,500 liters.
Showers account for some 20% of a household total in-door water use. Installing low-flow shower-heads has been calculated to save a family of four 80,000 liters of water a year.
Rainwater harvesting is underutilized. Harvested water can be used in many ways – for laundry, flushing, gardening, irrigation and even process water for drinking. Other uses include help mitigate flooding of low lying areas and lessen use of water wells.
“We must remember, and remind others, that one very good way to ensure a supply of water for domestic and other uses is to keep the water sources clean,” says a publication entitled Water and Health. “This means we must not put garbage and other wastes into streams and other waterways. No one should throw papers, cans, plastics and other trash into any possible source of water. Industries should not be allowed to thoughtlessly dump sewage into streams or rivers.”
