Water gushing from a burst pipe floods the New Panaderos bridge near Kalentong Market in Mandaluyong City on April 12, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
MANILA – The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Tuesday urged water-intensive establishments to start conserving water and be practical in its use amid the looming El Niño phenomenon.
Interior Director Allan Tabell urged local governments, the public, and even commercial establishments using too much water to start water conservation, so the supply for domestic use would not be affected in the future when the dry period hits.
“Definitely, kung may projected na kakulangan sa ulan and water supply in the next few months, baka pati iyong tubig na kailangan for human consumption ay magkukulang,” Tabell said in a public briefing.
“Kailangang ngayon pa lang bago pa man bumaba ang volume ng available water supply for human consumption, kailangan nilang i-encourage o i-inform ang kanilang mga constituents, ang mga tao na magtipid,” he added.
Among those businesses that need to conserve water supply include “water-world” type of parks, those with swimming pools, and car wash.
“Gumagamit ng water hose. Puwede naman sigurong timba at pamunas lang, I mean, there are many practical measures na puwedeng gawin sa mga negosyo or industries na water intensive na puwede namang actually ma-reduce iyong waste o iyong kailangang i-conserve iyong paggamit ng tubig,” he said.
The DILG was also planning a template for an information dissemination campaign on practical water use, he said.
“In the end kapag hindi sila handa ay maaari silang maapektuhan kung hindi man sila agricultural, definitely iyong kanilang water consumption na iniinom na tubig o iyong tubig na kailangan nilang gamitin sa household ay baka maapektuhan kung mag-aaksaya sila ng paggamit ng tubig.”
The National Water Resources Board in late April said it would prioritize allocating water supply in Angat Dam for domestic use once its levels hit 180 meters.
State weather bureau PAGASA last week issued an El Niño alert, saying the weather phenomenon characterized by below-normal rainfall may start affecting the country as early as June.
Video from PTV