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Cebuanos are now bracing for lesser water supply as the Metro Cebu Water District announced that water sources are being depleted due to the El Niño phenomenon.

“Affected na ang sources sa tubig (Sources of water are being affected)," MCWD’s production department manager Engineer Tommy Gonzales said in a forum with the Philippine Information Agency 7.

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Based on MCWD data, the usual production for surface water sources is 301,000 cubic meters of water per day but lately it has gone down to 256,000 cubic meters per day.

This means a shortage of about 45,000 cubic meters, equivalent to the same number of households.

“There are areas that have no water supply for 24 hours already,” Gonzales said.

Deep wells are also starting to yield lower production than normal.

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At this time, the MCWD is doubling drilling efforts to find new groundwater sources.

They are also strengthening their desalination capabilities, as well as purchasing more bulk water supply from private suppliers.

MCWD’s water supply is comprised of 40% surface water, 50% ground water and 10% from desalination.

They serve the entire Metro Cebu and other neighboring towns and cities.

Gonzales added they are experiencing the same effect as the El Niño phenomenon in 2019.