18-hole golf course ‘wastes’ 2.3-million liters of water daily

Based on a United Nations data, approximately 2.3-million liters of water is used daily by an 18-hole golf course.

In anticipation of a tighter water supply in Metro Manila, a water conservation group Saturday urged the regulation of water use by golf courses, malls, and hotels to enable equal distribution of water among ordinary households.

The Water for the People Network (WPN) made the call in light of the statement by west zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. that more than half a million of its customers will face water supply disruption starting this month because of the declining water level in the Angat Dam.

Based on a United Nations data, approximately 2.3-million liters of water is used daily by an 18-hole golf course.

Maynilad said that about 560,000 people in 156 barangays will experience lower water pressure or “shortened water supply schedules.”

Water level in Angat Dam, which supplies 97 percent of the water needs of Metro Manila, is expected to fall to 162 to 165 meters by the end of June due to the El Niño or long dry spell phrenomenon.

As of 6 a.m. Saturday, the level of Angat Dam has dropped to 180.67 meters, or 8.40 meters short of its normal level.

The WPN asked private water utilities operating in Metro Manila, as well as government regulators, to come out with a detailed plan on how they will ensure that ordinary households will not be further marginalized by well-off customers and commercial establishments in terms of access to water supply.

The group stressed that given the tightening water supply in Metro Manila, it is crucial for authorities to strictly monitor and regulate the wasteful use of water by golf courses, malls, hotels, private parks, car wash shops, and other commercial establishments.

The WPN pointed out that water used for an 18-hole golf course can meet the basic and more important water needs of from 46,000 to 115,000 people.

The United Nations data recommends that a person needs between 20 and 50 liters of water daily for his basic needs.

After more than a decade of privatization, the group stressed that water concessionaires Maynilad and Manila Water, must be held accountable for failing to provide reliable and universal access to water for people in Metro Manila and several towns in Rizal and Cavite provinces, which are included in the Metrpolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) service areas.

At present, some areas in Metro Manila and parts of Rizal and Cavite, in particular the poor communities, still do not have access to the privatized water distribution system of the MWSS.

The WPN said that even without El Niño, more than 3.2-million people in Metro Manila who are supposed to be served by the private water concessionaires do not have access to water.

Water losses, mostly from leaking pipes that the private water concessionaires have long neglected, reach more than 1.5- million liters per day.

As a long-term measure, the WPN urged the government to reverse the privatization of the MWSS and reiterated its earlier demand to stop the planned privatization of the Angat Dam and instead turn over its control and management to the public water sector. –ELLALYN B. DE VERA, Manila Bulletin