LWUA order: Conserve water
THE LOCAL Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) said it directed its water districts to conduct water conservation measures and have a non-revenue water (NRW) of less than 20% amid the threat of droughts posed by El Niño.
“We gave a directive [to water districts] that the non-revenue water or the water losses… should be less than 20%. Those having leaks, it should be no more than 20%,” LWUA Administrator
Vicente Homer B. Revil, speaking partly in Filipino, said in a televised interview on Tuesday.
Last year, the LWUA said that an average of 488 cubic meters of water a year is lost to waste — half of the size of Angat Dam.
The LWUA oversees 533 water districts which serve 648 local government units and 22.3 million of population in the country.
Mr. Revil said the agency has spent P1 billion worth of projects in 2023, eight of which were implemented last year.
“We will have about 135 water sources that will be opened up through irrigation dams for multipurpose use. It can be used for household, domestic, and commercial,” he said.
Mr. Revil also assured enough supply amid the onset of El Niño. “We are just preparing for the worst scenario that can happen but for now we have enough water for the countrymen.”
El Niño is projected to enter a stronger phase in January, persisting until May, according to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration or PAGASA.
The LWUA is a government-owned and -controlled corporation that manages the development of water systems outside of Metro Manila. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera