Government should stop whining about floods and start constructing more water impounding areas all over the country to irrigate ricefields and vegetable farms, agriculture experts said on Tuesday.

Fully 70 percent of the rainwater is lost to the sea, and only 30 percent of the enormous rainfall similar to that dumped by tropical storm “Ondoy” ever gets to seep down to beef up the receding water table, the experts said.

Unless collected properly, torrential rains would continue to ruin palay stands and reduce the main harvest to the detriment of a market that consumes 35,000 metric tons of rice a day, they added.

Studies conducted by foreign agencies said only 12 percent of rainfall seeps into the aquifers in Laguna. Moreover, the big demand for deep wells in industrial zones and mushrooming residential areas in the provinces would affect the existing water supply.

In Piddig, Ilocos Norte, farmers have been urging government to help them build a water impounding facility to take advantage of the water that swamp the area when typhoons visit them.

Last year, farmers in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija became furious when a 10-hectare reservoir built with the help of the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) was drained of water by entrepreneurs who wanted to harvest big head carp, tilapia and other varieties of fish.

It took two raging typhoons to fill up the reservoir, but the water was lost for the benefit of local officials and members of a local cooperative who believed that the facility was built for aquaculture alone.

A fisheries expert, Gil Marzo, did not conceal his anger at this development and complained to the Department of Agriculture (DA), insisting that it was criminal for the water to be drained since the law is explicit in providing that only 10 percent of inland water bodies could be devoted to aquaculture.

The huge volume of water dumped by “Ondoy” in the National Capital Region (NCR) and 23 provinces in Luzon has rekindled talk about beefing up a water recovery program so that the rainfall could be harnessed to increase the water supply for irrigation.

Hydrologists and officials of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) noted that existing facilities only cover 50 percent of their service areas, with the development cost pegged at a low R300,000 per hectare, nearly half of the amount disbursed to rehabilitate or repair facilities.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap was quoted the other day as being pleased with the huge volume of water that rained on the NCR and 23 other provinces since it filled up the dams, estimating that anywhere from 12,000 hectares to 15,000 hectares of ricefields could be irrigated for next year's dry season.