RAIN COLLECTION SYSTEMS PUSHED

SURIGAO del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers pushed the approval of a bill that requires the installation of rainwater collection systems in residential, commercial and institutional buildings.

Barbers’ proposed mandatory installation of rainwater collection systems (RCS) are embodied in House Bill 4837 which he filed on Sept. 14, 2022.

With the advent of El Niño, he called for the approval of the proposal.

“The global extreme weather conditions apparently due to climate change prompted the idea calling for the mandatory RCS installation in all residential, commercial and institutional buildings that would be built in the future,” Barbers said.

“The RCS shall mean a facility designed to capture, retain and store rainwater flowing off a building, parking lot or any other man-made, impervious surface, for subsequent onsite use,” Barbers said in a statement.

He said RCS was not a new concept in the Philippines where rainwater is collected and stored using pipes or diverters linked to barrels in rural areas that have limited water supply.

“But in urban or densely populated areas like Metro Manila, people put little to no emphasis on rainwater collection due to the presence of service companies like Maynilad and Manila water that provide stable and abundant water supply,” he said.

The bill seeks to mandate the owner or developer of a new residential, commercial and institutional building to include an RCS in the building plan.

Under the bill, local government units and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board shall not allow the construction of a building without an RCS.

The bill provides a penalty for failure to comply with the installation.