BACOLOD CITY – Due to El Niño, local businessmen expressed alarm this week over an apparent uncertainty in water supply in the city if scientists’ projections are correct that the dry spell will extend until June this year.

Earlier, the Bacolod City Water District (BACIWA) declared that there is sufficient supply of water in the city.

BACIWA General Manager Julie Carbon has assured Bacolodnons that the city concessionaires are not affected by the dry spell because water sources of BACIWA are ground water.

However, officers of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) said BACIWA has yet to explain the actual status of potable water supply and whether or not it can last throughout  the El Niño season.

She said the only areas affected by El Niño are surface water like rivers and big bodies of water.
“Assuming it is not in critical level yet, what is the long-term status of our potable water level? How long can it sustain us? What are the adoptive and mitigating measures that the public will undertake now to ensure that it does not dry up soon, since El Niño phenomenon is projected to extend until June this year?” queried Frank Carbon, MBCCI vice president.

MBBCI’s Carbon said a shortage in water supply will have direct and indirect effects on the business industry.

“Water is a basic element of business and aside from household use it is also significant in industrial and agricultural development,” he said.

MBCCI Director for Agricultural and Industrial Development Greg Lopez said it is BACIWA’s duty to inform its constituents what are their long-term development plans on the use of potable water, as well as on its industrial and economic development use.

MBCCI President Roberto Montelibano has written BACIWA on February 24 asking for a sit-down conference to discuss the status of potable water in the city so that if there is looming problem, they can help the agency.

They cited a report in national papers on February 20 that “the worst of El Niño is not yet over as dams in Luzon could reach critical levels by March and April, citing a report of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Administration (PAGASA).”

At these critical levels, the report added, the dams would be unable to supply water for irrigation and power generation.

BACIWA has not replied to our letter yet, Mr. Carbon said.

“We want to be apprised of the situation whether we have reasons to be alarmed of our water here and, more importantly, we want to help address the problem,” Montelibano wrote.

Meanwhile, Lopez is also asking whether BACIWA has a surface water development plan to maximize the rehabilitation and conservation of watersheds that are sources of underground water.

He said the present generation should not use underground water, since “we are stealing it from the next generation.”

We can maximize the use of our surface water like rivers, which are abundant in the province, instead of “just throwing it into the sea.”

“We are all guilty of willful neglect, which is almost a crime,” Lopez lamented.

BACIWA GM Carbon insists that Bacolod is not affected by El Niño because there is no evaporation since it is ground water.

The only problem she foresees is in the event of a power shortage since electricity is used to pump water for distribution to consumers.