Pampanga warned of water lack

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—At least 12 of the 20 towns and two cities in Pampanga may experience groundwater shortage by 2025 due to overextraction, experts and officials said during the Provincial Initiative on Water Resource Management summit here on Wednesday.

Bryan Villamor, a consultant on water resources of the provincial government, said Pampanga is overly dependent on groundwater while, at the same time, it is leaving surface water along river systems unused.

“A main concern is the reported overextraction or overdraft of groundwater sources. Based on ongoing studies, it is estimated that by 2025, 12 of the 22 towns and cities in Pampanga may be at risk of groundwater shortage,” he said.

Villamor said 90 percent of Pampanga’s surface water remains untapped, with only 10 percent being used mainly to irrigate farms.

He said the Pampanga River Basin, which is the fourth largest river basin in the country, has a total catchment area of 10,434 square kilometers and has a potential supply of 18.34 million cubic meters a day.

Of the Pampanga River Basin’s potential supply, between eight and nine million cubic meters daily could be used as a “dependable surface water supply.”

Villamor said surface water is the best alternative to groundwater and would result in increased production because of abundant supply and lower costs.

He said overextraction of groundwater will result in deterioration of water quality, land subsidence, drying up of wells and salt water intrusion.

Case studies about groundwater depletion in India, Thailand and other Asian countries were presented during the summit attended by Pampanga mayors and representatives of water districts in the province.

In India, groundwater volume in three regions in that country’s northern part has dropped by 109 billion cubic meters due to overextraction. Similar problems were reported in Thailand and Indonesia. Jun Malig, Inquirer Central Luzon