‘70% of water resources wasted yearly’

More than 112 billion cubic meters, or 70 percent of the country’s total water resources, are lost or wasted each year, due to leaks and illegal connections, among other reasons given in a study by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The study, prepared by Vicente Tuddao, DENR executive director of the River Basin Control Office (RBCO), confirmed the huge drain in the country’s critical water supply that is threatening to disrupt water-service delivery.

In pressing for urgent reforms in the water sector in the wake of the Tuddao study, Sen. Edgardo Angara said on Monday “a portion of this [drain] refers to the water we lose from leaking pipes and illegal connections.”

“A lot of this [drain] is also the rainwater that just flows back into the sea, instead of being preserved for irrigation, industrial purposes, or even everyday use,” the senator said.

Angara, chairman of the Senate Sub-Committee on Water, said the country “lack[s] water catchments and other appropriate infrastructure. But the core of the problem is really in how disjointed water policy in the country is.”

He noted that at least 16 major agencies have a hand over Philippine water resources. This number alone, he said, should convince the government of the need “to undertake reforms in how we regulate our water sector.”

Angara authored the Water Sector Reform Act or WSRA (Senate Bill 2997), which lays down a framework for the efficient and effective management of water in the country by adopting an Integrated Water Resources Management approach.

The senator said the bill aims to organize the country into Provincial Water Resource Zones, with certain portions grouped together as River Basin Clusters.

“It also seeks to rationalize how water utilities are operated, as well as how public-private partnership arrangements in the provision of water services are granted,” Angara added.

At the same time, he said, various stakeholders have raised concerns that the proposed measure poses a threat to the existence of the water districts, many of which run local water utilities.

“Actually, the success of these reforms hinges greatly on whether the current water districts are able to scale up and improve on their services,” according to Angara.

“In fact, under this new framework, the pie becomes bigger for the water districts. Not only is their scope widened, but technical and financial assistance are also made more available to them.” –Butch Fernandez / Reporter, Businessmirror