Pampanga eyeing ordinance limiting groundwater extraction

PAMPANGA — The Pampanga provincial government on Tuesday said it would begin drafting an ordinance to limit groundwater extraction by water providers amid dwindling supplies and worsening water quality.

Pampanga Governor Lilia Pineda pushed for a partnership with Manila Water to develop a bulk water supply project that would tap rivers prone to overflowing during the rainy season, turning excess floodwater into a potential source of supply.

“Hindi na kasi malinis ang ine-extract nilang tubig sa pumping station nila. May kulay kalawang na, may dumi na. At ka-partner ko dito yung Department of Health na hindi na talaga pwedeng kumuha ng tubig na iinumin sa ilalim ng lupa,” said Pineda during an interagency meeting aimed to mitigating the impacts of the super El Niño.

According to Manila Water Phil. Ventures Inc President and CEO Melvin Tan they would be ready to start the first phase of the proposed bulk water facility, which will make use of water from the Pampanga and Pasig Portrero rivers, by next year and complete it by 2029.

“Initially, it can deliver 125 million liters per day or half of the water supply gap (in Pampanga). It’s 100% surface water so we will reduce reliance on groundwater and it will now also allow our aquifer to recharge over time,” he said.

Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon also joined the meeting, and committed to build water detention basins to help boost the area’s water capacity.

“Hindi lang yun sasalo ng tubig para mabawas ang baha. Pero yung sasaluhing tubig ay magagamit din either for irrigation or even household, domestic water,” he said.

The agency’s long-term plans also include constructing larger dams along with the National Irrigation Administration.

Meanwhile, Dizon blasted PrimeWater for skipping the meeting despite being invited by both the provincial government and the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).

“Ipapaabot ko ‘to hanggang kay Presidente, hindi katanggap-tanggap ‘to. Seryoso ang problema natin sa El Niño, seryoso ang problem natin sa tubig dito sa Pampanga and yet yung pinakamalaking water distributor dito ay hindi sumipot,” he said.

“Warning ko lang sa PrimeWater, hindi pupwede yung ganyan. It’s not as if napakaganda ng serbisyo niyo rito. Palpak ang serbisyo niyo rito sa Pampanga, at sa pagkakaalam ko, palpak ang serbisyo niyo all over the country,” added Dizon.

 After the meeting, Dizon visited Megaworld’s rainwater park in one of its townships in San Fernando, Pampanga, noting how it could be replicated in other developments across the country.

The park currently has a capacity to hold 15,000 cubic meters of rainwater, which could then be reused to water the plants in the township.

“Now that we’re developing the building codes and rules governing development, i think we should make it a mandatory requirement for developers to have detention facilities that would retain water to prevent flooding but also for periods na walang tubig,” said Dizon.

Dizon said these plans prove that the Marcos Jr. administration is not just focused on short-term solutions to the water crisis that the super El Niño may trigger, but also larger scale projects.

“There are small-scale plans that can be implemented at the community level, barangay level but there are also plans that are bigger in scope that can be implemented in the city level or provincial level such as these rain collection systems that can be built between 6 months to 1 year,” he said.

“I think the President will be presenting this together with the super el nino task force very soon, the comprehensive plan— not just the balde,” added Dizon.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr earlier drew flak for telling Filipinos to collect rainwater using pails and buckets amid a “super” El Niño.