Water is essential for life on Earth. At birth, humans consist of about 70–80% water. It is thought that life began in water, underscoring its importance as the environment where biological processes initially developed. Organisms cannot exist without water, leading to the collapse of ecosystems.
“Water is the driving force of all nature,” said Italian polymath Leonardo da Vinci.
In the Philippines, however, access to water remains elusive for the majority of Filipinos. A recent study conducted by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) has validated this situation. It revealed that water districts all over the country are unable to meet the increasing demand, as their service delivery systems are inadequate despite the country’s plentiful water resources.
Across 532 water districts, the annual demand consistently surpasses the effective supply, leading to ongoing service gaps, even though 87.7 percent of the population is reported to have access to safe drinking water, as stated in the study titled “Securing Tomorrow’s Water: Insights on Groundwater, Surface Water, and the Role of Water Districts in the Philippines.”
Less than half of Filipino households have piped water connections within their residences, and 332 municipalities are still categorized as “water-less,” with over half of the residents lacking a dependable water supply.
Adrian Agbon, the author of the study and a supervising research specialist at PIDS, indicated that the research highlights structural issues in water service delivery, particularly the ongoing supply shortages among water districts, which jeopardize long-term water security even in regions where water resources are accessible.
The Philippines, with 7,641 islands, appears water-rich on paper.
According to the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), the Philippines has about 226 billion cubic meters of water available each year, including around 20 billion cubic meters of groundwater and about 206 billion cubic meters of surface water, such as rivers and lakes.
However, most of this water—about 83% to 85%—is used for agriculture. Rice, the staple food of Filipinos, is a case in point. In his book, Water: The International Crisis, Robin Clark reports that an average farmer needs 5,000 liters of water to produce one kilogram of rice. “Rice growing is a heavy consumer of water,” agrees the Laguna-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
Lester R. Brown, author or co-author of over 50 books on global environmental issues, told this author in an email interview: “We drink, in one form or another, perhaps four liters of water per day. But the food we consume each day requires 2,000 liters of water to produce, or 500 times as much.”
The remaining 15% to 17% is used for domestic (which include drinking water supplies, private homes, commercial establishments, public services and municipal supplies) and industrial uses.
The PIDS study notes that current supply gaps are driven less by raw water availability than by system capacity constraints among water districts.
“As the population increased from 77 million in 2000 to over 103 million in 2016, the amount of water available per person each year dropped from 1,907 cubic meters to just 1,400 cubic meters,” read a press release.
Water quality is also deteriorating. Of the country’s 623 classified water bodies, only a limited number meet the highest potable standard. About 36% fall under Class C (primarily suitable for fisheries), while 33% are rated Class D, requiring substantial treatment before they can be used for drinking.
A key concern raised in the study is the country’s heavy and growing reliance on aquifers, those underground layers of water-bearing, permeable rock, gravel, sand, or silt that store and transmit groundwater. They are the main source of supply for most water districts nationwide. Globally, groundwater accounts for about 99% of liquid freshwater and supplies roughly half of domestic water use.
The PIDS study showed that the rate of groundwater extraction in the country has consistently risen, averaging an annual increase of 3.8% from 2014 to 2023. A significant surge of 17.7% was noted between 2019 and 2020, primarily fueled by sectors such as mining, manufacturing, quarrying, and construction. During this period, the utilization of groundwater greatly surpassed that of surface water in terms of both volume and growth rate.
Excessive reliance on aquifers may heighten the risk of saline intrusion – the movement of saltwater into freshwater aquifers – in coastal regions, declining water tables, and the long-term degradation of water quality.
Another environmental hazard that may be due to over extraction of groundwater is land subsidence, commonly referred to as sinking cities. Land subsidence is characterized by the gradual or abrupt lowering of the Earth’s surface.
Coastal cities are particularly vulnerable to land subsidence, although cities situated inland are not exempt from facing similar difficulties. A study published in Geophysical Research Letters revealed that the land in Metro Manila was subsiding at a rate exceeding 2 centimeters annually from 2015 to 2020. This rate is nearly seven times greater than the average increase in sea level, thereby heightening the risk of flooding.
“Along coastal communities and coupled with sea level rise, subsidence creates a compounding effect of intensifying coastal hazards, leading to more frequent and severe flooding events, especially during high tides or typhoons,” said the report of researchers from the University of the Philippines (UP) who conducted a thorough study on land subsidence in major cities in the country.
The PIDS study showed the total water withdrawals reached a peak of 92.3 million cubic meters in 2018, with water stress levels hitting 28.21 percent – underscoring the increasing pressure of demand on the available supply.
“The impact of these system constraints is evident among the country’s 532 water districts,” the press release said.
From 2019 to 2024, average annual demand reached 10.6 million cubic meters, while effective supply stood at only about 7 million cubic meters—resulting in a persistent 3.6 million cubic meter deficit. Luzon recorded the largest shortfall, followed by gaps across the Visayas and Mindanao.
“Many communities continue to rely on shared sources such as public wells or springs for domestic use,” the PIDS study pointed out. “These supply gaps constrain water districts’ ability to expand coverage and meet growing demand.”
The study posited that the supply shortages encountered by water districts are influenced not only by limitations in resources but also by the complexities of governance and institutional frameworks.
“Water governance in the Philippines is fragmented,” the press release said. “Around 30 public sector agencies—national and local—share responsibilities over water quality, watershed management, irrigation, hydropower, sanitation, flood control, research, and water supply.”
The study pointed out that weak coordination and overlapping responsibilities can hinder the permitting process, infrastructure investments, and the expansion of services, thereby exacerbating ongoing supply deficiencies at the local level.
“Securing the Philippines’ water future requires shifting from fragmented, source-specific responses toward integrated planning, stronger monitoring, and better-supported water service providers,” Agbon said.
Since most districts depend on groundwater, which is harder to measure and manage, pricing water fairly and efficiently remains a challenge. While current rate structures aim to promote fairness and conservation, some pricing practices may create unintended effects and deserve closer review.
The Philippines is striving to attain universal access to safe water and sanitation services by the year 2030, in accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
With less than five years remaining to meet national water supply and sanitation targets, the study underscores the need to strengthen water districts’ capacity to expand coverage, improve system efficiency, and manage groundwater resources sustainably.
Improving service reliability will require closer institutional coordination, targeted infrastructure investments, and pricing and financing mechanisms that support both affordability and long-term system sustainability, the study said.
The UN Food and Agriculture reminds, “Policy-makers need to establish a structure of incentives, regulations, permits, restrictions, and penalties that will help guide, influence and coordinate how people use water while encouraging innovations in water-saving technologies.”
