Water scarcity has increased dramatically throughout several parts of the world.

Water scarcity occurs when there is a lack of available clean water to meet the demands of

the people within a country or area. At least one month each year, water scarcity has

affected around 2.8 billion people from all over the world (Science Daily, 2014). In spite of

this, people still continue to utilize water resources almost excessively. Water scarcity can

be a result of two different mechanisms: inadequate water supply to meet the needs of the

population, or a frivolous act of mismanagement of resources. Unfortunately, the latter is

more often found to be the case. Currently, there are several countries that are

experiencing such crisis. One of them in particular is the Philippines, specifically in Manila.

Metro Manila draws its water from 2 privately-owned companies, both responsible

for the water services in all of Metro Manila. One of them is Maynilad Water Services, Inc.

or the MWS. They provide for 17 cities and municipalities that comprise the West Zone of

Metro Manila. The other is The Manila Water Company, Inc. They provide for the East Zone

of Metro Manila, such as the cities of Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Malabon, Navotas, and other

areas of Quezon City. The government agency supervising both of these private companies

is the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System or the MWSS. These companies

draw water from a dam located in Bulacan called the Angat Dam, which provides 96% of

the entire demand of water resources in Manila. The Angat Dam produces potable water

and hydro-electric power generation.

On March 7, 2019, services from both companies suddenly halted. The water supply

could no longer keep up with the current demand of the community as it went beyond the
company’s Angat Dam allocation (Rappler, 2019). The water shortage was reportedly

caused by a very high demand and the drought-driving El Niño phenomenon.

The aim of this paper is to look at short-term and long-term solutions to this

problem and to create a more innovative and community-driven solution that addresses

how people can obtain a safe water supply while waiting for the MWSS to formally

systematize its water system.

Cape Town, a port city in South Africa with a population of 4 million, has faced a

similar shortage of water supply that took place around 2017-2018. Their major problem

was severe drought due to hot climate and water system leakage. However, they have

found a way to mitigate and end the shortage problem. Since then, they have raised more

water for their dam by implementing certain practices that could also be applicable in our

current situation. The first short-term solution we can follow is to restrict the amount of

water each person can use. This can be done by having public locations to refill water,

maybe with an estimated 50-100 liters per person, and by limiting the toilet-flushing only

during the night (wikipedia, 2019). By doing this, water consumption can be mitigated, and

the dams have a better chance of recuperating its water supply over a shorter period of

time. Businesses that rely on water would definitely have new restrictions in place.

Agriculture would also be forced to minimize the use of water. By having these restrictions,

Cape Town was able to drop water usage by approximately 100 million liters of water per

day in a span of one year (theguardian, 2018). Another short-term solution is to build

public or private water-collection tanks as a secondary water source to collect rainwater,

which Cape Town had also done.

 Additionally, Cape Town further reduced its local water consumption by purchasing

5 million liters of water from the Molteno Reservoir in Oranjezicht and the Atlantis Aquifer

(wikipedia, 2019). In this case, people could buy water from different parts of the

Philippines to resupply the dam so that it can regain its ideal water level.

Despite being a port city, one practice that Cape Town did not implement is the

collection and desalination of saltwater. This was because the cost for desalination is too

high and it also requires a long period of time to produce (Perlman, 2018). Thus, this

method would only be recommended if ever the country would find itself in its most

desperate situation. Another reason why Cape Town didn’t apply this strategy is because it

would increase the price of water, which would in turn affect the prices of almost all other

commodities.

For the long-term, one feasible solution is to create another dam. The Kaliwa Dam, a

China-funded project that has been in the works since the 1970’s, is still en route. This dam

would provide for Metro Manila, Cavite, Rizal, and Bulacan and is set for completion by

2023. It may be costly (Kaliwa Dam costs a reported budget of P12.2 billion) or may

continue to endure major setbacks, but it is projected to last in longevity, generate

electricity, and collect an abundant amount of water during rainy seasons. Dams are

designed with a very large base and deep bottom to serve as a huge reservoir. It is evident

that construction of the new dam will take almost forever to complete. Moreover, it will

only be beneficial during a future occurrence of drought and relies upon the dam’s

completion and fully operational capability to serve as a solution.

 Another small but practical solution is to build deep wells and fix the sewage

system. These two are linked because if sewage, in any way, leaks and permeates into an

underground water resource, such as an aquifer, it would much likely lead to

contamination of deep well sites. The Philippines is arguably known for having a poor

sewage system. With an increase in population comes an increase in trash and waste. If this

is not regulated properly, it could clog the gutters, which is also a reason why floods are

especially common in polluted districts. Furthermore, having our sewage systems fixed will

not only minimize diseases and potential deaths from floods, but also lead to cleaner deep

wells as well.

Our final long-term solution is awareness on the subject. Poverty rate in the

Philippines is 21.6%, which means it is likely that the remaining 70-80% of Filipinos who

are privileged to have enough water may also waste it on a regular basis. It may be that

most of the time people are only concerned about their water bills and do not really think

about water supply actually running out. Once this happens, the first ones to be affected are

the poor due to their inability to cope with scarcity and their low financial security.

Educating people both rich and poor about the water scarcity situation can certainly make

them think twice about minimizing water utilization. In this way, if every family would save

even just a modest amount of water a day, it could already account to tons and tons of liters

of water saved in the entire community.

Dealing with the people, however, is a great challenge. In order to achieve the goals

of the proposed solutions, cooperation of the masses must first be achieved. If this can be

done, there is no excuse for the MWS, the Manila Water Company, and the MWSS not be
able to fix the problem with no major setbacks. Considering the short-term, since people

most likely will complain about the shortage of water and high payment of water bills,

these companies should have the obligation to inform their customers about the plans to fix

the shortage problem, which demands understanding, respect, and cooperation in the

customers’ part on any temporary regulations. If achieved, our short-term solutions that

mirror Cape Town’s may commence. The community can voluntarily restrict the amount of

water that each one of them uses per day, build public and private water-collection tanks

for rainwater as an alternative source, and purchase water from other locations to refill

existing dams. By doing this, water consumption may be mitigated and dams can have a

better chance of recuperating its water supply over a shorter period of time.

Considering the long-term, one can only wait for the government to complete the

Kaliwa Dam project or create more deep wells. While waiting, it is encouraged for young

people to educate and be educated about the Kaliwa Dam project and water shortage by

sharing news and information through social media. Campaigns and petitions can help

push the government to speed up completion of the Kaliwa Dam. Alternative solutions may

also be proposed and shared. Informing the masses, especially the uneducated and poor,

would be very helpful in the long-term.

Once everything has been set and done, and cooperation of the community has been

properly maintained, the Kaliwa Dam project should be expected to run smoothly for the

long-term. And in the short-term, we should start to see some progress through regulated

water usage and alternative water sources. Hopefully through these solutions, hundreds of
thousands of lives can be saved from the unexpected situation that they are currently

dealing with.

References:

Mahr, K. (2018, March 4). How Cape Town was saved from running out of water. Retrieved

from

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/04/back-from-the-brink-how-cape-tow

n-cracked-its-water-crisis

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Cape Town water crisis. Retrieved March 22, 2019, from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Town_water_crisis#Responses_to_the_water_crisis

Perlman, H. (2018, July 19). Desalination: Drink a cup of seawater? - US Geological Survey.

Retrieved March 22, 2019, from ​https://water.usgs.gov/edu/drinkseawater.html

Knoema. (2019, March 19). Philippines Adult Illiteracy, 1970-2018. Retrieved March 22,

2019, from

https://knoema.com/atlas/Philippines/topics/Education/Literacy/Adult-illiteracy

Manila Bulletin Business. Miraflor, M. (2019, March 18). Japanese firm urges Duterte to

reconsider Kaliwa Dam project. Retrieved from

https://business.mb.com.ph/2019/03/18/japanese-firm-urges-duterte-to-reconsider-kali

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https://www.adb.org/countries/philippines/poverty

Water Scarcity. (2014). Retrived March 21, 2019, from ​https://www.sciencedaily.com

/terms/water_scarcity.htm

Manila Water’s supply crisis: What we know so far. (March 17, 2019). Retrieved March 21.

2019, from ​https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/225953-what-we-know-

explanation-manila-water-supply-crisis.

What are the effects of water shortages?. (2008). Retrieved MArch 21, 2019, from

http://www.eschooltoday.com/global-water-scarcity/effects-of-water-shortage.html