Like air, it’s a commodity that used to be free but now comes in bottled form. Water, and the plastic bottle that carries it, cost Robert, an office worker in Quezon City, P20 ($0.37).
“Pabili ng tubig. Magkano?” Robert (not his real name) asked inside an air-conditioned bus to a vendor selling assorted snacks and bottled water.
When asked if he trusts the water inside the unlabeled bottle to be safe, he said he doesn’t know, as he’s that thirsty.
Living in a country surrounded by water, Robert could be considered lucky. However, this precious commodity, as it is and its delivery to consumers, is not getting any cheaper.
In Metro Manila as in many other areas, spending for water depends on the volume of water consumed. Private water companies charge higher rates than other water service providers like water districts, or those managed by provincial, city or municipal governments, or in some cases, barangay water service providers.
Water insecurity
ACCORDING to the “Asian Water Development Outlook 2016: Strengthening Water Security in Asia and the Pacific,” the region remains a global hot spot for water insecurity.
“[The region] remains home to 60 percent of the world’s population and half of the world’s poorest people,” the report said.
The report noted that water for agriculture continues to consume 80 percent of the region’s resources.
Still, “a staggering 1.7 billion people lack access to basic sanitation and, with a predicted population of 5.2 billion by 2050 and hosting 22 megacities by 2030, the region’s finite water resources will be placed under enormous pressure.”
“Recent estimates indicate up to 3.4 billion people could be living in water-stressed areas of Asia by 2050,” the report added.
Despite being blessed with rich natural resources, including abundant freshwater supply, access to water, especially safe drinking water, when and where they are needed, is a major challenge in the Philippines.
“Countries such as the Philippines increasingly experience more intense rather than more frequent extreme events,” the report said. “Likewise, the number of hot days and warm nights is increasing and projected to continue to do so.”
The report noted that “such changes coupled with weak resource management and limited data availability further compound water insecurity.”
National government agencies with respective mandates over the water sector in the Philippines use the report as a guide in formulating policies and decisions to improve water security.
Officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) agree the country’s population of over 100 million is experiencing water supply shortages, especially during the dry season.
Along with the projected increase in population, rapid urbanization and development in rural areas, the demand for water is sure to increase in the next two decades, they said.
Water everywhere
BASED on the latest National Mapping Resources and Information Authority data, the Philippines is blessed with abundant freshwater supply.
Water from rains during the wet season that usually starts in June replenishes the country’s freshwater supply.
The Philippines has 143 critical watersheds. It has 79 natural lakes through which rainwater drains. Excess water flows through 421 principal rivers, including 18 major rivers, and ends up in inland water bodies that include smaller lakes and wetlands and marshlands.
The Philippines also has around 50,000 square kilometers of groundwater aquifers.
Aside from these natural freshwater reservoirs, the Philippines also has 18 major man-made water reservoirs or dams with multiple uses, including irrigation, power generation, fishery and aquaculture, tourism, sports and recreation, and more importantly, domestic water consumption.
Threatened resource
The country’s freshwater sources, however, are seriously threatened by natural and man-made phenomena. Its freshwater supply is diminished by environmental destruction and degradation.
In some instances, the release of raw water such as for Metro Manila’s water supply that comes from the Angat-Ipo-La Mesa watershed is controlled or regulated.
Environmental degradation is blamed on the massive deforestation, land conversion and expansion of agricultural areas and human settlement, saltwater intrusion brought about by sea-level rise and excessive groundwater extraction, pollution caused by poor solid waste management and direct discharge of untreated wastewater.
Water quality
The DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) continuously conducts water-quality monitoring all over the country.
In its 2006 to 2013 National Water Quality Status Report, the DENR-EMB classified a total of 688 water bodies according to their intended beneficial usages. This constitutes 313 principal rivers, 301 minor rivers, 16 lakes and 58 coastal and marine water.
“Of the 40 water bodies monitored as sources of drinking water supply, 28 percent conform to the criterion for TSS [total suspended solids], signifying the effects of sand and gravel quarrying activities and runoff sediments from denuded forests and agricultural lands,” the report said.
According to the report, TSS measures the concentration of undissolved solid particles in water, such as silt, decaying plant and animal water, and domestic and other industrial waste. The higher the TSS value, the lower the ability of the water to support aquatic life due to reduced light penetration.
Of inland water bodies and potential source of drinking water the DENR-EMB monitored and tested, only five have been classified as “Class AA” or Public Water Supply Class I. This classification is for water in watersheds, which are uninhabited and otherwise protected and require only approved disinfection to meet the Philippines National Standards for Drinking Water.
A total of 234 qualifies as Class A or Public Water Supply Class II. This means that complete treatment, which includes coagulation, sedimentation, filtration and disinfection to meet the national standards, is needed.
The rest are classified as “B”, “C”, and “D”, which are for “Recreational Water Class I,” or water for purpose of bathing, swimming, skin diving. Other classifications include “Fishery Water,” which is water for the propagation and growth of fish and other aquatic resources, and “Recreational Water Class II,” which is for boating, and “Industrial Water Supply Class I” for manufacturing processes after treatment. Water for agriculture, irrigation and livestock watering is classified as Industrial Water Supply Class II.
Water privatization
In pre-privatization days, the only water provider in Metro Manila was the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS). That changed after then-President Fidel V. Ramos implemented the privatization of water service in Metro Manila in 1997.
The government’s justification of water privatization is anchored on the poor performance of the MWSS: nonrevenue water was high because of the government’s failure to make a considerable investment to maintain piping systems and expand their coverage.
Water-borne diseases from drinking water, at that time, were also prevalent because of the contamination caused by leaks in the piping systems.
With an estimated population of 12 million people, the demand for water in the National Capital Region is currently pegged at 4,000 million liters a day (MLD).
This is estimated based on the current water requirement of the two private water service providers operating in Metro Manila: Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Co. Inc.
As contractors and agents of the MWSS, Maynilad was designated as the concessionaire for the West Zone, and Manila Water the concessionaire for the East Zone. Both are responsible for treating raw water from the Angat-Ipo-La Mesa watershed and distributed as tap water to consumers.
The private sector is also becoming a major player outside Metro Manila, which is still dominated by water districts and water utilities run by local government units (LGUs).
Both companies also claim success in reducing nonrevenue water (NRW): water that is used but cannot be billed because of leaks.
Nonrevenue water
REDUCING NRW is a priority for both Maynilad and Manila Water.
As of last year, the average NRW in the West Zone is at 32 percent.
“This is a significant reduction from the 68-percent NRW in 2006 prior to Maynilad’s re-privatization. We are continuing to pursue our NRW Management Program to keep reducing water losses. The goal is to bring it down to 20 percent by 2022,” according to documents provided by Maynilad. The company said it has put in place a management program to reduce NRW, setting aside P2.86 billion this year for such move.
For its part, Manila Water said it expects its NRW by the end of 2017 at 11.6 percent.
Jeric T. Sevilla, head of Manila Water’s Corporate Communications, said they were able to reduce NRW by replacing and rehabilitating more than 5,100 kilometers of water lines so far. He also cited a campaign the company launched in 1998 to eliminate illegal connection and provide water to low-income and depressed communities.
Sevilla said Manila Water has been replacing its meters every five years to ensure these are in good working condition and register accurate water consumption.
According to Sevilla, Manila Water started operating in the East Zone in 1997 with a very high NRW of 63 percent.
The more than 51 percent reduction in NRW is equivalent to more than 750 million liters of water that have been recovered and redistributed to previously underserved and unserved areas of the concession, he said, adding that the reduction is equivalent to 14 or 15 Wawa Dams with a capacity of 50 MLD.
Security program
The MWSS, which continues to exercise regulatory powers over Maynilad and Manila Water, is implementing various programs to improve water security, especially for Metro Manila, which draws about 97 percent of water from the Angat-Ipo-La Mesa watershed.
The Angat watershed reservoir, a 60-year-old dam, is undergoing continuous rehabilitation.
MWSS Administrator Reynaldo V. Velasco told the BusinessMirror there’s enough water supply in Angat to last until the end of the dry season.
In fact, there is enough water to last in the next 25 years, Velasco said.
He added the administration of President Duterte has in place a continuing water security program that is parallel to the demand with a provision of about 7-percent to 10-percent buffer.
Velasco said water concessionaires are required to submit continuous supply-demand projections to determine the amount to be invested in the water infrastructure.
One such infrastructure is the Kaliwa Dam, a project Velasco believes would be finished before Duterte steps down. He added the Laiban Dam is also a project that would be jump-started within the next four tears.
“After 30 years of waiting, starting in the Ramos administration, I hope we can finish these flagship projects before Duterte steps down in 2022,” Velasco said. “Because this is the only program that we think we can start and finish during the Duterte administration.”
Other projects under the Duterte administration’s Water Security Program include the Rizal Province Water Supply Improvement Project being undertaken by Manila Water, the Angat Water Transmission Improvement Water, Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project and the Sumag Diversion and Relocation Project.
According to Velasco, there will be sufficient water supply up to the year 2037 or once Kaliwa and Laiban dams are completed.
Regulated sector
FOUR years ago, the government initiated the “Listahang Tubig,” a national water survey of service providers. The Listahang Tubig came up with an 88-percent participation rate from cities and municipalities nationwide, generating a database of water-service providers.
According to the National Water Resources Board (NWRB), 85 percent of the country’s total population has access to water, but not everyone gets tap water or water that underwent potability tests.
There are 22,844 water service providers all over the country and only about 4,700 are piped water supply service providers.
Of the number of total water service providers, 79 percent are unregulated.
It noted, however, that water service providers that are regulated and have corporate governance structure such as water districts and some private utilities show better performance.
Outside Metro Manila, water service providers extract water from groundwater aquifers, thereby depleting water supposedly reserved for future freshwater requirement.
Expansion plans
Maynilad and Manila Water claim phenomenal success in implementing various service-improvement programs in their respective concession areas.
Maynilad, which currently has around 9 million customers, has a requirement of 2,500 MLD per day. Aside from the 2,400 MLD it gets from the ration of raw water from Angat, it also draws 150 MLD from Laguna de Bay, which it treats in its Putatan water treatment facility.
Manila Water, which has around 6.8 million customers, has a minimum requirement of 1,600 MLD. The company claims it has 20 deep wells where it can draw water in case of emergency.
Maynilad is looking to replicate its accomplishments in the West Zone by exploring opportunities to provide water and wastewater services in other areas. Manila Water, meanwhile, is currently developing and implementing the Rizal Province water supply improvement project, designed to provide an additional 100 million liters of water per day to Rizal Province, Sevilla said.
“We are already breaching the limits of our supply allocation from Angat Dam, especially during the summer season,” he said. “There is, therefore, a need to develop new water sources to augment supply in the coming years.”
Sevilla added Manila Water estimates there are up to a million residents that need their services in Rizal’s Tanay, Pillilla, Cardona and Morong towns.
Environmental programs
Nonito M. Tamayo of the DENR’s Forest Management Bureau (FMB) said because of budget limitations, the FMB will focus next year on the rehabilitation of the country’s critical watersheds.
“We will conduct a nationwide assessment of these critical watersheds,” said Tamayo, DENR-FMB director. “We have 143 [that] we need to rehabilitate to ensure water security.” He cited a report that said the Philippines and other countries in Asia and the Pacific will experience water stress by 2050.
Tamayo added that since there will be a budget constraint, outside the critical watersheds, the DENR-FMB will rely on its private-sector partners for massive rehabilitation of the country’s open, degraded and denuded forests, by encouraging investment in industrial forest tree plantations.
The Laguna Lake Development Authority, for one, continuously monitors the quality of water being discharged by business establishments within the Laguna de Bay region.
Wastewater treatment
Underscoring the importance of preventing water pollution, DENR Undersecretary Jonas R. Leones encouraged LGUs to ensure that wastewater from business establishments is treated before being discharged.
In Metro Manila, water concession agreements with Maynilad and Manila Water include wastewater treatment from households and other customers.
However, he said big industrial and commercial establishments are also required to put up a sewage treatment plant or wastewater treatment facility.
What happened in Boracay has become an eye opener for all public and private stakeholders, he said.
“In areas where there are private water concessions, like in Metro Manila and in Boracay, where there are two water providers, wastewater treatment is the responsibility of the contractors,” Leones said. “But in areas where there are no private water concessions, LGUs should come up with a plan to invest in sewer connections to treat wastewater.”
The campaign in Boracay, he said, will also be done in other tourist destinations, to prevent water pollution that may contaminate not only the coastal waters but more importantly, groundwater aquifers.
Conservation, recycling
DENR Undersecretary Maria Paz Luna said there is a need to rethink how people use water.
The massive tree-planting activities under the government’s greening program, she said, make sense because they enhance the water storage capacity of watersheds, including storage in groundwater aquifers.
In Metro Manila, Luna noted that reusing water becomes doubly hard because of pollution. Unlike in Boracay, which has 90-percent proper sewage connection, Metro Manila’s sewer connection is only about 15 percent to 20 percent.
Being the private water concessionaires, Maynilad and Manila Water are mandated to facilitate proper sewage connection and treat wastewater before they are released back to the environment. A 100-percent sewage connection will partly address water pollution problems in rivers and lakes, like Pasig River, Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay.
But Luna, officer in charge for the DENR Manila Bay Concerns and other Water Concerns, admitted it will take time for that to happen, as doing so will impact on water consumers.
“If you take note, the concession agreements of Maynilad and Manila Water are until 2037 and are to spread out the charging of their capital expenditures to their customers,” she told the BusinessMirror in a telephone interview.
Otherwise, Luna said while Maynilad and Manila Water may be forced to spend big time, they will also charge such expenditures to customers, which means that rates will go up to the extent of possible unaffordability.
One of the water conservation and water access measures is to reuse as much water as possible, Luna said.
“There are certain buildings in Metro Manila that are already using reused water. That will reduce our dependence on Angat Dam,” she said.
She noted that part of water security is to ensure that water conservation measures are integrated into day-to-day activities at the household level, by businesses or even by industries.
“Part of that is also demand management. The more water we use, the more sewage results,” she added. “The more sewage systems needed and the more capital investment to clean that sewage.”
Luna explained that “saving water works both ways: It reduces the need for more infrastructure to deliver water and lessens our expenses in maintaining sewage.”
She said people should be able to implement rainwater harvesting to reduce their dependence on new water coming from Angat.
Extracting water
Luna also expressed alarm that most water service providers outside Metro Manila are extracting from groundwater aquifers which may potentially deplete the groundwater reserve.
She said there’s no way of gathering accurate data as to how much volume of water is extracted from groundwater aquifers, but noted that the NWRB has already ceased issuing water extraction permits in certain areas in Metro Manila, such as in Parañaque City and Malabon City.
The official said the DENR, through its Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), is working with other agencies in mapping the potential sources of drinking water across the country.
Luna said the Philippines needs to diversify water sources and find ways to protect its precious freshwater sources like lakes, rivers, and even groundwater aquifers, against pollution, or in the case of coastal areas, saltwater intrusion.
Also, Luna said drawing more water from Laguna de Bay is not a remote possibility but it will really depend on how economically feasible is the water extraction and treatment process to ensure that the rate of water will not go up to the point of unaffordability.
“That is why it really makes sense to have policies to improve sewer management coverage like in the entire Laguna de Bay region to improve its water quality,” she said.
Still, while the Philippines currently has an abundant water supply, the country is now facing serious water supply and water management problems that need to be addressed—quickly and in a comprehensive manner. That is, unless people are willing to concede this: has the water problem become too big a problem to solve?
Image credits: Bernard Testa