Baguio experiences water rationing due to drought

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY — Thousands of residents, especially those living in highly elevated areas in this mountain resort city, are now experiencing water rationing from the Baguio Water District due to the continuous drop in the water levels in various pumping stations that supply potable water for commercial and domestic uses.

While BWD management refuses to admit the existence of water shortage in the city as early as last month, households have noticed the low water pressure coming to their respective residences coupled with the irregular schedule in water distribution in most parts of the city.

From the usual thrice a week water schedule in most of the 128 barangays (villages), water distribution has become irregular to the extent that it is brought to the residences once a week, an indication that BWD is helpless in countering the effects of the onslaught of the El Niño phenomenon.

Worst, the 12-hour schedule of water supply has been reduced to only four hours with a low pressure, thus, local residents are worried the continuous prevalence of the drought will result to a worst case scenario in terms of water supply for the city.

Because of the continuous depletion of water in BWD’s potential water sources, the city government here signified its intention to issue an order to implement water rationing in the franchise area of the water district so that the existing supply could attend to the expected increase in demand during the Holy Week break where thousands of tourists are expected to flock to the city just to have a breather and escape the extreme heat in the lowlands which is being brought by the prolonged dry spell.

Even with the massive information and education campaign being conducted by various sectors on water saving tips for local residents, the absence of frequent rains to recharge the city’s drying up aquifers as well as the rapid denudation of identified watershed and forest reservations are the primary culprits for the worsening water crisis.

Based on previous researches conducted by experts to justify the implementation of the failed bulk water project, the city needs at least 50,000 cubic meters of water daily to ensure a daily supply of water for the increasing population of the 128 villages.