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A WATER conservation project called “Sagip Tubig”
was launched on Thursday by Procter and Gamble (P&G), Bantay
Kalikasan, ABS-CBN and ardent environmentalist Sen. Pia Cayetano in
the light of warnings that the Philippines will be hit by a water
crisis by 2020.
Initial steps to be taken by the
program include a massive information drive to educate the public on
the importance of saving water. It will also disseminate water
consumption tips in TV commercials so people will know what they can
do to avoid a water crisis.
Among the tips provided to lower
water consumption is to use Downy 1 Banlaw, that can reduce the
amount of water used to rinse laundry by as much as 67 percent.
In a research conducted by
P&G, 60 liters of water is wasted by rinsing 30 pieces of
clothes alone. That volume of water can fill a reservoir in a year.
According to the Asian Water
Development Outlook of 2007, only 33 percent of the country’s
river systems are still suitable as a freshwater supply source, and
up to 58 percent of groundwater is now contaminated. This means the
country may face a possible water crisis in less than 20 years.
Unfortunately, Cayetano said that
the government barely allocates funds for the improvement of water.
“I hope that 10 years from now,
we can say that there is no water crisis because we did something to
prevent it 10 years ago,” Cayetano said.
--Christine Joyce Placino
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