Vol. XXI, No. 236 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
THE NATIONAL Water Resources Board (NWRB) will continue to seal unregulated deep wells in Metro Manila to mitigate the impact of excessive extraction to the environment.
In a joint operation with the Quezon City government on June 18, the two deep wells of Robinsons Place Novaliches were finally switched off after several years of operation, despite the abundant supply of surface water from Maynilad Water Services, Inc., the west zone concessionaire of Metro Manila Waterworks and Sewerage System.
"While we have long issued an order banning groundwater extraction throughout Metro Manila, we still allow the use of deep wells as main water source if adequate surface water supply has not yet covered the area. But this is not the case with Robinsons Place," said Jorge Estioko, NWRB monitoring and enforcement chief.
Mr. Estioko also noted that Robinsons Place Novaliches only consumes 6,000 cubic meters from its water supplier Maynilad.
"That consumption is relatively low for a mall with a size like that," he said.
In an electronic mail response from Maynilad, the company noted it loses thousands of cubic meters monthly from large customer such as malls and industrial customers; the exact figures were unavailable as of press time.
Robinsons Place Novaliches officials cannot also be reached for comment as of press time.
Mr. Estioko said a deep well without permit violates Presidential Decree 1067, or the Water Code.
He noted a study showing the rapid decline of groundwater levels in Metro Manila since the early 1990s. The study indicates that excessive groundwater extraction have caused land subsidence or surface sinking.
The joint operation also caused the sealing of several deep wells in Fairview, Quezon City on June 20.
No new permits
The NWRB noted that new permits for deep wells are no longer given since the depletion of Metro Manila’s groundwater supply has reached alarming levels.
In a similar move, the Quezon City council passed Ordinance 1682-S-2005, which stops the drilling of new deep wells, regulate existing ones and penalizes violators.
Mr. Estioko said that the NWRB is fast-tracking the sealing of other illegal deep wells in Metro Manila.
He said they are targeting establishments in Makati composed of high-rise buildings, commercial centers and banks which consume a total of 99,000 cubic meters per month.
The official stopped short of identifying the culprits so as not to preempt the pursuit of violators.
A Manila Water Co. official, meanwhile, said they do not look at financial losses from illegal deep wells, rather its effect on the environment.
Manila Water, which provides service to the east zone, has about five million customers in the cities of Makati, Pasig, Mandaluyong, Marikina, most parts of Quezon City, some parts of Manila, and the municipalities of San Juan, Taguig and Pateros. It also covers cities and municipalities in Rizal province.
Maynilad, meanwhile, has a total of 677,985 billed water services, equivalent to a population of around 6.2 million.
It covers nine cities and two municipalities in Metro Manila and one city and five towns in Cavite province. — Ava Kashima K. Austria
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