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By Nora O. Gamolo, Senior Desk Editor
Access to clean and adequate water is a basic
human right, but remains an acute seasonal problem in urban and
coastal areas in the Philippines. The National Capital Region (Metro
Manila), Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, and Central Visayas are
the four urban regions identified to be in a critical situation in
terms of water quality and quantity.
The country is endowed with rich natural
resources, including water, which are essential for the country’s
economic development and in meeting its Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs). Water resources of the Philippines include inland freshwater
(rivers, lakes, and groundwater), and marine (bay, coastal, and
oceanic waters). Overall, there is sufficient water but not enough
in highly populated areas, especially during the dry season.
Rivers and lakes
Surface freshwater resources are rivers and
lakes. The Philippines has 412 principal river basins in 119
proclaimed watersheds. Of these, 19 are considered major river
basins. The longest river is the Cagayan in Region II.
Other important rivers in Luzon are the Agno and
the Pampanga, crossing the plains of Central Luzon; the Pasig, a
commercially important artery flowing through the center of Metro
Manila, provides the main drainage outlet for most of the waterways;
and the Bicol, the primary river of Region V. The principal river of
Mindanao is the Rio Grande de Mindanao, which receives the waters of
the Pulangi and the Agusan.
The Pasig River which passes through the center
of Metro Manila and serves as its major waterway, has become grossly
polluted. Through the rehabilitation effort of the government the
water quality of the Pasig River has improved over the last 5 years.
There are a total of 99 lakes, 16 of which have
an area more than 400 hectares. The largest lakes in the principal
islands are the Laguna de Bay in Luzon, with an area of 922 sq. km,
and Lake Lanao in Mindanao, which is a major source of hydropower.
On the whole, rivers and lakes cover 1,830 square km or 0.61 percent
of the total land area.
Groundwater is the other major source of
freshwater. Our reservoirs cover 50,000 square km. They have a
storage capacity of 251,100 million cubic meters.
The potential supply from surface water sources
is estimated at 125,790 millions of cubic meters (mcm) per year,
while that of groundwater is approximately 20,200 mcm/yr or about 14
percent of total water resources potential.
Freshwater availability
Despite these figures, the Philippines ranks
among the lowest in terms of freshwater availability per capita at
1,907 cubic meters, compared with the average of 7,045 cubic meters
worldwide and 3,668 cubic meters in Asia.
Water use is generally classified as consumptive
and non-consumptive. The former classification covers domestic,
commercial, industrial water supply and irrigation, and the latter
comprises hydropower generation, recreational, environment and flood
control.
According to World Bank data, groundwater use is
distributed this way: 63 percent for domestic use; 17 percent for
industry; 13 percent for agriculture; 1 percent for power
generation; and the remaining 6 percent for all other sectors.
Surface water is largely used for agriculture
(85 percent). with industry and domestic sectors sharing the rest.
Based on a study conducted by the Japan International Cooperation
Agency (JICA), water demand in the Philippines was 29,944 mcm/yr in
1996. It is expected to dramatically increase to up to 86,500 mcm/yr
in 2025.
In Luzon, which holds most of the large cities
(and a majority of the agricultural and industrial developments),
demand will outstrip supply potential; however, in Mindanao, there
will still be a huge surplus.
The country is divided into 12 water resources
regions based on hydrological boundaries as defined by physiological
features and homogeneity in climate. The water resources regions in
the central Philippines may comprise several islands.
The government monitors water resources with a
total of 11,029 groundwater stations and 656 streamflow stations
scattered throughout the different water resources regions and
recorded in the National Water Information Network, the database of
all water-related resource in the country.
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