With the looming El Niño set to affect the city by the end of the month, the Davao City Water District (DCWD) is urging its customers to conserve water.
Despite the abundant water supply sourced from the groundwater of the city’s watershed, DCWD deputy spokesperson Jovana Duhaylungsod said they are still encouraging the public not to waste water.
“For the longest time, our battle cry has always been to control consumer water usage to practical levels,”
Jovana Duhaylungsod, DCWD deputy spokesperson said.
According to the February data, DWCD supplies 308,370
cubic meters per day. This is above of the 224,247
cubic meters per day demand which means that shortage is not happening very soon.
Duhaylungsod said the need to conserve water is still important to ensure sustainability.
“In the height of El Niño, whether there’s going to be a strong effect or not, I also would like to campaign to all of the consumers that ensuring water supply sustainably will not always be just the responsibility of DCWD,” Duhaylungsod said.
“Although DCWD will always ensure that there is water supply available, I hope we also do our own simple measures because there is a plenty amount of water that is wasted,” she added.
She calls the customers to do their part on managing their water consumption.
“We always lobby for water conservation among our customers and we also want to promote alternative water sources and the rainwater harvesting ordinance,” she said.
“Also, if there are available sources especially during rainy days, we also strongly encourage the customers find ways to store these waters because we can also use this for non-potable uses. Let us not depend so much on the water supply that we have,” she added.
Storing water should also be a habit, not just during El Niño season, she said.
“Also, we want to emphasize regardless whether there is El Niño or none, we should always be prepared by having stored water for emergency use,” she said.
Reporting leakages and illegal connections is also a help to control losses, Duhaylungsod said.
“Lastly, we encourage the general public to report pipeline leaks and illegal connections to the DCWD so that you can also help us minimize water losses on a daily basis,” she said.
