DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 29 August) – Water from Tamugan River is being diverted to the mountain resorts operating upstream, affecting its volume and quality, the Davao City-based environmental group Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) said Tuesday.
Lawyer Mark Peñalver, IDIS executive director, told MindaNews that the water level would decrease during an El Niño, which is currently affecting parts of the country and expected to become moderate and strong in the last quarter of 2023.
But Peñalver said the diversion of the water to the resorts has caused a significant impact on the volume and supply.
He warned that the operation of resorts upstream could compromise the quality of water in the river.
Peñalver, an environmental lawyer, said IDIS welcomes the move of the city council to initiate an investigation.
“As an NGO working for the protection of our watersheds, these kinds of activities should be strictly regulated, if not disallowed, in watershed areas as it impacts our biodiversity and water quantity and continues to threaten water quality,” he said.
He said the Panigan-Tamugan Rivers, the city’s next sources of drinking water, are currently being tapped for the Davao City Water Supply Project.
He said the protection of these rivers and their tributaries “should be a primordial concern not only of Dabawenyos but most especially of our policy and decision-makers.”
“Now that we are experiencing El Niño, it is more crucial to look after the health of our watersheds,” he said.
He cited an ordinance passed in 2021 “regulating the recreational activities within the watershed-conservation areas for the protection, conservation, and preservation of the natural environment.”
He urged the barangays to be more proactive in implementing this measure to ensure that “no illegal activities are conducted within their jurisdiction.”
First District Councilor Temujin “Tek” Ocampo, chair of the council committee on environment, said they plan to start the committee hearings this week or next week.
“What I have are just raw information subject for validation,” he said.
In a statement issued on August 4, Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc. said it is not drying up the rivers.
“Based on our data, there have been no irregularities in water flow except for recent weeks when it was observed that there was abnormal low flow due to the unusually dry weather, and not enough rainfall,” it said.
It said it can be attributed to the El Niño phenomenon.
It said Apo Agua is fully compliant with the terms of its water permit and with all the environmental requirements for the Davao City Water Supply Project, which include maintaining “a minimum amount of flow in the river. As such, the claim that Apo Agua is causing the river to dry up is false.”
“As part of our regular commissioning activities, we have diverted an allowable amount of water from the Tamugan River since March 2023 to be treated for the production of potable water,” it added.
It said the facilities are likewise designed and constructed to effectively return any excess water to the rivers.“
With a considerable number of users relying on the river, and in light of El Niño that is expected to become even more felt in the coming months, we enjoin and urge all stakeholders to work together in safeguarding the Panigan-Tamugan Rivers,” it said. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
