• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental may experience “water stress” by 2030 if urgent measures are not undertaken to secure the province’s water supply, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II warned.
Diaz said studies conducted by the provincial government showed that shallow wells, deep wells, and commercial wells that are currently utilized by water districts may no longer naturally replenish their water sources due to excessive extraction.
“We just simply withdraw water faster than nature can deposit supply in aquifers and reservoirs,” Diaz said.
The warning also came amid growing concerns raised by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) over the country’s looming “water bankruptcy.”
DENR Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the Philippines is facing “a challenge of water bankruptcy, where national consumption outpaces nature’s ability to replenish.”
The DENR has intensified its campaign for water conservation as part of nationwide efforts to address the looming water crisis.
Diaz stressed the need for local government units and communities to reduce dependence on underground water sources and instead maximize the use of surface water from rivers, while strengthening environmental conservation programs.
He emphasized that reforestation and watershed protection are essential in restoring the province’s water reserves.
“But if we stop drawing underground water and tap surface water from rivers, if we replant and reforest our high recharge watershed areas, if we protect and expand our remaining forest cover, then we can give nature more time to deposit fresh water resources in our aquifers. Then, we will have more sources of clean potable water,” he added.
The provincial administrator also urged Negrenses to support the provincial government’s proposed Bulk Water Project, which aims to provide affordable and sustainable potable water to households across the province.
“We can just continue to ignore the warnings, act individually, protect our own self-interests, do nothing and then blame each other when all is too late,” Diaz said.
“Or, we can all unite and support Governor Eugenio Jose ‘Bong’ Lacson and Team PGNO with the establishment of our own Bulk Water Project to provide affordable potable water to as many Negrense homes in a sustainable and environmentally sound system,” he added.
The provincial government is eyeing the Malogo River in Barangay San Isidro, E.B. Magalona, as the source of the proposed P1.2-billion bulk water project, after the Silay City government objected to an earlier proposal to tap the surface water of the Embang River.
Diaz reminded the public that water is not merely a commodity, but a fundamental right and the foundation of life, health, agriculture, and development.
He called on government agencies, local officials, business groups, farmers, educators, and ordinary citizens to work together in protecting Negros Occidental’s water resources.
The provincial government has consistently appealed to Negrenses to take action in securing the province’s long-term water future, since 2021.
“The choice is ours to make. Let us act today so that tomorrow, our children and grandchildren will still have abundant, clean water to drink, to use, and to live by,” Diaz said.*
