Last Sunday, Jeannyline arose early as she intended to wash the soiled clothes that had accumulated throughout the week. However, upon opening the faucet, she discovered that there was no water. What would her daughter wear to school the next day?, she pondered.
She then opted to prepare breakfast for them. To her disappointment, the bucket they typically used to collect water was nearly empty. How could she wash the vegetables? Would there be sufficient water to cook the rice?
What a day to observe World Water Day, an occasion that is generally celebrated worldwide to highlight the importance of freshwater and to encourage the sustainable management of water resources.
World Water Day has been commemorated each year since 1993, in accordance with a resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly. It supports the realization of Sustainable Development Goal 6, which aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all individuals by the year 2030.
The Philippines, as a member of the United Nations, actively engages in World Water Day by hosting educational events, environmental campaigns, and community initiatives. Educational institutions, including schools and universities, along with local government bodies, arrange lectures, seminars, and workshops aimed at increasing awareness regarding water-related issues, pollution prevention, and sustainable practices.
The theme for this year was: “Isang Agos para sa Karapatan at Pagkakapantay-pantay.”
The celebration was timely as the country grapples with water crisis while facing the summer season. In some parts of the country, drought has already been experienced. In other areas, water problem is already being felt as there’s no water gushing from their faucets.
It is understandable. Water districts throughout the country are facing challenges in meeting the increasing demand, as their service delivery systems are inadequate despite the available water resources in the country.
A recent study conducted by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), titled “Securing Tomorrow’s Water: Insights on Groundwater, Surface Water, and the Role of Water Districts in the Philippines,” revealed that across 532 water districts, the annual demand consistently surpasses the effective supply—leading to ongoing service gaps, even though it is reported that 87.7% of the population has access to safe water.
Less than half of Filipino households have piped water connections within their residences, and 332 municipalities are still classified as “water-less,” with over half of the residents lacking a reliable water supply.
Authored by Adrian Agbon, a supervising research specialist at PIDS, the study highlights structural issues in the provision of water services, particularly the ongoing supply shortages among water districts, which jeopardize long-term water security even in regions where water resources are present.
The Philippines seems to have an abundance of water on paper. According to the National Water Resources Board, the Philippines possesses approximately 226 billion cubic meters of water annually, which includes around 20 billion cubic meters of groundwater and roughly 206 billion cubic meters of surface water, such as rivers and lakes.
Nevertheless, the majority of this water—approximately 83% to 85%—is allocated for agricultural use, resulting in a reduced portion available for households, businesses, and industries. The study indicates that the existing supply deficiencies are influenced more by limitations in system capacity among water districts than by the availability of raw water.
As the population grew from 77 million in 2000 to over 103 million in 2016, the per capita water availability each year decreased from 1,907 cubic meters to merely 1,400 cubic meters.
To tackle the issue of water scarcity in the Philippines, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) needs P200 billion.
“They have estimated that P200 billion is necessary to resolve the water scarcity challenges faced by the country. The difference between P200 billion and P485 million is substantial, but our focus is on the most isolated communities—the poorest ones, and those with the least access to water, as they are the most affected,” said DENR Undersecretary for Integrated Environmental Science Carlos Primo David when inquired about the funding needed to combat the country’s water crisis.
The DENR’s water supply initiatives have an overall budget of P485 million allocated for the years 2024 to 2026, which will encompass 405 locations across the country.
This problem of water scarcity is nothing new. “The Philippines will likely experience severe water shortage by 2040 due to the combined impact of rapid population growth and climate change,” predicts the Washington, D.C.-based World Resources Institute (WRI).
Of the 167 countries surveyed by WRI, the Philippines ranked 57th among those which were highly vulnerable to severe water shortage. In Southeast Asia, the Philippines ranked second lowest in terms of per capita water availability per year with only 1,907 cubic meters.
Most of those affected are highly urbanized areas. Even before the WRI survey, a study done by the Japan International Cooperation Agency identified at least nine major cities as “water-critical areas.” These were Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Baguio, Angeles, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and Zamboanga.
The situation is nothing new. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the world was already facing a serious water crisis. All the signs suggest that it is getting worse and will continue to do so unless corrective action is soon taken.
“Today, we withdraw water far faster than it can be recharged – unsustainably mining what was once a renewable resource,” deplores Janet Abramovitz, a researcher at the Washington, D.C.-based Worldwatch Institute.
“Water, not oil, is the most precious fluid in our lives, the substance from which all life on the earth has sprung and continues to depend,” wrote Maryann Bird in a Time feature.
Water is even more expensive than gold. “Water is worth more than gold and necessary for survival above all other resources on earth,” pointed out a feature published in South Review.
If the world runs out of oil and other fossil fuels, there are always alternative energy sources. People can live without the precious gold. But without water, the world is outright doomed.
“I do not want to be called the Prophet of Doom, but it pays to listen to concerned quarters who have been warning us that one of the fiercest battles in the future is on water,” said then Senator Franklin Drillon during the First International River Summit held in Iloilo City in 2012.
Although water is a renewable resource, it is also a finite one. Less than three percent of the world’s water is fresh, and more than 75% of this is frozen – mainly at the North and South Poles. Of the remaining freshwater available for man to use, 98% lies underground.
“Put in another way, if all the earth’s water were to fit in a gallon jug (4 liters), the available freshwater would be just over one tablespoon,” explains the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Water is finite. “World demand for water doubles every 21 years, but the volume available is the same as it was in the Roman times,” observes Sir Crispin Tickell, former British ambassador to the United Nations and one of the organizers of the 1992 Earth Summit. “Something has got to give.”
“A person can survive only three to five days without water, in some cases people have survived for an average of one week,” says the website, thewaterpage.com. “Once the body is deprived of fluids the cells and organs in the body begin to deteriorate. The presence of water in the body could mean the difference between life and death.”
“No water, no life,” writes Dr. Willie T. Ong in his book, How to Live Longer. “Our bodies are made up of mostly water. The brain contains 74% water; blood contains 83% water; lean muscle has 75% and bone has 22% water.”
