EVERYWHERE IN MINDANAO
[PHOTO - BLACKOUT IN
KORONADAL]
MANILA,
MARCH 29, 2012 (STANDARD)
Written by Christine F. Herrera - THE faucets have run dry on some islands
in Mindanao after the eight-hour daily blackouts knocked out their deep-well
pumps, Agham Rep. Angelo Palmones said Tuesday.
"The residents on the island provinces and municipalities like Zamboanga,
Basilan and Tawi-Tawi have to resort to manual wells," Palmones said.
"The residents are also boiling the water for drinking to avoid contracting
diseases because there is not enough power to run the treatment plant. The
prices of bottled water have skyrocketed."
The island's plantation owners, meanwhile, are complaining that their banana,
pineapple, palm and rubber exports are threatened by the lack of electricity to
power the pumping stations that irrigate their farms, according to Ramon
Floresta, president of the Kidapawan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a member
of the Mindanao Business Council.
The losses in banana exports alone could hit $1.6 billion, Floresta said.
In Davao City, the local water district is looking for P11 billion to cope
with the water shortage and to upgrade its facilities.
The Davao City Water District, a government-owned and -controlled
corporation, serves only about 60 percent of the city's population, and only 106
of its 182 villages receive pipeline services. That translates to only 4.86
percent of Davao City's total land area, a company report says, while demand is
growing at an average of 3.24 percent a year.
From 257,511 cubic meters in 2011, the demand for water is expected to shoot
up to 321,606 cubic meters by 2018, water district officials say.
[PHOTO FROM FLICKR- Rotating brownouts are everywhere in
Mindanao]
A major project is the creation of the P8.48- billion Tamugan Surface Water
Development system that aims to develop surface water sources aside from ground
water.
"We want to develop it because we want to prevent the over-utilization of our
ground water source," said Ariel Noble, the district's corporate planning
manager.
"This ground water source is not infinite. There will come a time it will be
exhausted, so we're trying to prevent that.
The district now gets 99.81 percent of its water from ground water sources. A
medium-term objective is to cut its water losses to 15 percent by 2018.
The district's other projects include the drilling of additional wells, the
construction of additional reservoirs, and the extension and improvement of its
Panacan and Cabantian facilities.
"We will need P11 billion in order to implement these projects as more than
P8 billion will go to the surface water project," Noble said. With Maria Bernadette Lunas
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
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PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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