Davao City Water District (DCWD) spokesperson Jovana Cresta Duhaylungsod on Wednesday assured Dabawenyos that the water provider has enough water supply amid El Niño.
Duhaylungsod said DCWD is anticipating a rise in water consumption because if the weather is hot, more people will use water.
She said concerning the water supply, she said Davao City is fortunate as it is enjoying terms of available water supply. She also said the city has an abundant supply of both in-ground and surface water sources.
DCWD’s project partner, the Apo Agua Infrastructura, also gave its assurance that the dry spell jas almost no effect on its Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project.
Duhaylungsod said that even if Apo Agua reaches the point where El Niño affects the volume that it can provide to DCWD, DCWD’s groundwater can serve as a contingency because right now, for groundwater alone it can produce 340,000 cubic meters per day, while at the minimum of 300,000 cubic meters per day for surface water.
“Our water requirement mudagan lang na siya ug around 300,000 to 400,000 cubic meters per day. Kung muingon ka ug surplus naa gyud. But if ever man muabot sa punto that we will be relying on ground water for a short period of time i-anticipate nato nga naay areas nga mag low water pressure to no water kay dili man ideal ang atoang set up. But we can assure you that within the 24-hour timeframe magkatubig gyud ta,” she said during the AFP PNP Press Corps media briefing at The Royal Mandaya Hotel.
Meanwhile, Duhaylungsod said as per DCWD’s monitoring, there is no decline of water level in Tamugan River where the Apo Agua collects water.
“Ang atoang reference sa level sa sapa, we just received the water from Apo Agua. We also monitor the volume that they produce. Wala pa man niabot sa point na nagnotify sila that there will be a reduction in volume so meaning they can still deliver atong volume na atong gina require sa ilaha. That is for the surface water source,” she said.
Duhaylungsod explained that the groundwater source is more resilient compared to surface water to the effects of dry spells. She said the groundwater sources of DCWD is around 200 meters below the ground and it has 74 production wells.
“Just imagine the groundwater sources of DCWD is around 200 meters below the ground and we have 74 production wells. Kung naa man epekto 200 meters away very minimal, kung naa man” she said.
