• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II has warned that local government units in the province could experience “water stress” by 2030, if immediate action is not taken to address present and future water security concerns.
Diaz said studies conducted by the provincial government showed that shallow wells, deep wells, and commercial wells being utilized by water districts may no longer be able to naturally replenish their water supply.
“We just simply withdraw water faster than nature can deposit supply in aquifers and reservoirs,” Diaz said.
He stressed the need to shift from excessive dependence on underground water and instead maximize surface water sources from rivers while strengthening environmental conservation efforts.
“But if we stop drawing underground water and tap surface water from rivers, if we replant and reforest our high recharge watershed areas, if we protect and expand our remaining forest cover, then we can give nature more time to deposit fresh water resources in our aquifers. Then, we will have more sources of clean potable water,” Diaz added.
He also urged Negrenses to support the provincial government’s proposed Bulk Water Project, saying it aims to provide affordable and sustainable potable water to households across the province.
“We can just continue to ignore the warnings, act individually, protect our own self-interests, do nothing and then blame each other when all is too late,” he said.
“Or, we can all unite and support Governor (Eugenio Jose) Bong Lacson and Team PGNO with the establishment of our own Bulk Water Project to provide affordable potable water to as many Negrense homes in a sustainable and environmentally sound system,” Diaz added.
The provincial government is eyeing Malogo River in Brgy. San Isidro, E.B. Magalona, as the site of its proposed bulk water supply project, after the Silay City government objected to the proposal to tap surface water of its Embang River.
Diaz said that since 2021, the provincial government has consistently called on Negrenses to take action to secure the province’s water future.
The warning came as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) also raised concerns over the country’s growing risk of “water bankruptcy.”
DENR Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the country is facing “a challenge of water bankruptcy, where national consumption outpaces nature’s ability to replenish.”
The DENR has intensified its campaign for water conservation as part of efforts to address the looming water crisis nationwide.
Diaz reminded everyone that water is not merely a commodity, but a fundamental right and the very foundation of life, health, agriculture, and development.
He called on all sectors — government agencies, local officials, business groups, farmers, educators, and ordinary citizens — to set aside differences and work as one to protect and secure Negros Occidental’s most precious resource.
“The choice is ours to make. Let us act today so that tomorrow, our children and grandchildren will still have abundant, clean water to drink, to use, and to live by,” Diaz said. | GB
