• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
As result of the drought, a potable water shortage has taken its toll on 5,283 families, composed of 20,223 individuals, in 11 of the 19 barangays in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental.
Joeful Sombilon, head of the Himamaylan City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office Research and Planning Section, disclosed yesterday that water rationing is now focused in Barangays Mahalang and Cabadiangan, noting that their wells are 80 to 90 percent dried up.
There are instances, according to Sombilon, that residents have to wait two to three hours to get water from some almost dried up wells.
Other barangays affected by the water shortage are Nabali-an, Mambagaton, Suay, Tooy, San Antonio, Buenavista, Cabanbanan, Libacao, and Carabalan, majority of which are located in upland areas, Sombilon said.
He also noted that there are areas that have not experienced any rain since December last year. “Most of the people in the communities depend on shallow and artesian wells for their water needs,” Sombilon further said.
The provincial government of Negros Occidental has come to the rescue by providing the Himamaylan City government of a water filtration unit, in line with efforts to provide potable water to affected residents.
Sombilon also said that the Himamaylan City government has taken measures to address the water shortage, aside from water rationing in most affected villages, by tapping other potential water sources.
Based on the reports of the City Agriculturist Office (CAO), Sombilon said that damage to rice crops has now reached P12,064,923, affecting 381 farmers, with a total of 226.91 hectares affected in the villages of Nabali-an, Mambagaton, Su-ay, Mahalang, To-oy, San Antonio, Buenavista, Cabanbanan, Libacao, Cabadiangan, Carabalan, poblacion barangays of 3 and 4.
Sombilon further reported that they are still conducting a Rapid Damage Assessment to determine if Himamaylan City can qualify to declare a state of calamity.
On the other hand, the city government, through its CAO, also provided seedlings for backyard gardening to affected farmers.
The Himamaylan City government also purchased water hoses to link villages to water sources.
Fortunately, there have been no water borne diseases as of this time, according to the report of the City Health Office.*
