Rainwater harvester to rise in Apo Island

Known for being one of the world’s best known community-organized marine sanctuaries, Apo Island showcased yet another spirit of “bayanihan” among the Apohanons in building a ground water catchment.
Facing shortage of water supply, the people in Apo Island identified a sub-project called a multi-purpose building with ground water catchment.
The project  will be implemented by the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)  through the Community Force Account mode that will employ at least 20 skilled and 50 non-skilled workers from the island barangay.
DSWD Central Visayas Assistant Director Nemia Antipala led the groundbreaking ceremony with Dauin Mayor Neil Credo and barangay captain Liberty Rhodes to signal the start of construction of the multi-purpose building.
“This is just a start of more developments for Apo Island and the municipality of Dauin. I wish that this project will be finished ahead of the given timeline.  I believe that through the cooperation of every Apohanon, this will be finished at the right time,” Antipala said in Cebuano.
During the dry season, most households get fresh water from mainland Dauin at P15-20 per container. Once completed, the project is expected to reduce price of water to P2-4 per container.
The ground water catchment will collect rain water that flows in the hill, filter it through filtration tanks, then store the water in the reservoir located in the multi-purpose building.
The funding of the project, estimated to be worth P3.9 million, will be taken from the P2.9 million grant from Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC), a funding agency created by the US Congress. The local government of Dauin will shoulder the remaining P1 million as their counterpart, while barangay Apo Island will provide the labor force.
The multi-purpose building will not only collect rainwater, but will also serve as an evacuation center or relief distribution center during calamities and as a venue for community activities such as public gathering, sports league and socio-civic activities.
The project is expected to be completed in four months.