MWSS CHIEF OUTLINES PROGRAM ON WATER SECURITY

Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) Administrator Reynaldo Velasco has outlined a three-pronged program on water security and sustainability in Metro Manila and nearby areas.

Stressing that 95.6 percent of Metro Manila’s water comes from Angat dam that produces 4,000 million liters per day (MLD), Velasco said at a water forum in the New World Hotel recently that the time was now to beef up water security under the Duterte administration by focusing on three areas.

These areas are interim and long-term water source projects to approximate at least 4,000 MLD in the next 10, 25 to 50 years; disaster management especially with the possible occurrence of the Big One (7.2magnitude earthquake) and anti-terrorist measures on major water installations and facilities; and sustained environment program through sustainable watershed management projects.

Velasco keynoted the Finex Water Forum with the theme: “Averting A Crisis” hosted by the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex).

Velasco noted that while the Angat reservoir seemed to be sufficient to cover the water requirements of the current population in the near future, droughts spawned by El Nino and decreasing reservoir capacity due to heavy siltation had sometimes given limits for the water supply requirements of Metro Manila due to the irrigation requirements of Bulacan and Pampanga.

“When one speaks of water sustainability, it means there is enough and available water not only for the present generation but also for future generations,” Velasco said.

On interim and long-term water source projects, the MWSS chief said he would form shortly a new Technical Working Group comprising of MWSS, concessionaires Manila Water, Maynilad and Luzon Water Development and other entities to map out a new 10year development plan on new water sources that would zero in on Laguna Lake, Putatan, Umiray and Sumag, Kaliwa, Laiban and the possible reinstatement of Wawa Dam after 24 years of dormancy. The goal is to match Angat’s dam 4,000 MLD production from 2022 to 2025.

“Having these additional flagship projects approved, started and implemented in the next five years and completed in a span of 10 years would be enough water security and legacy of the Duterte administration for the next generations,” Velasco said.