Sen. Edgardo J. Angara has called for more advanced research on water management to conserve water, efficiently utilize its limited source and solve the prevailing water scarcity in the country.

“Our ailing water management and infrastructure system needs to be urgently reviewed and changed. Every minute of inaction prolongs and compounds the problem of overexploitation and unsustainable use of water in the country,” he said.

Angara noted the apparent lack of potable water supply in many urban areas and the rising price of drinking water which poses an increasing burden to millions of Filipinos. “Water is a vital element in our daily lives and a crucial factor in national economic progress,” he said. “With pollution resulting in global warming and the drastic change in ecology, including higher acidity levels, we have every reason to fear an eventual depletion of water supply.”

He said most urban areas in the country are not able to provide potable tap water in their services, hence the necessity for people to allocate a significant amount in their daily budgets for drinking water. With the current economic crisis and the rise of commodity prices in the market, consumers are faced with tougher times to defray daily expenses, the Senator said.

In 2007, the ADB warned that the country’s freshwater supply could be depleted by 2025 if people continue exploiting the country’s water supply in inefficient manner, and if the country does not invest in water management and infrastructure.

“Today technology evolves at its fastest in human history, and through innovation technology now offers solutions to relieve water stress or overuse that leads to the deterioration of both quantity and quality of available and sustainable water sources,” Angara said.