DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 12 September) – Water from Tamugan River has not been diverted to private resorts operating in the uplands of Davao City, an official said in an interview Tuesday.
Reacting to an earlier statement by the environmental group Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS), Davao City Councilor Temujin “Tek” Ocampo said the water sources of these resorts are the springs found within their properties.
Lawyer Mark Peñalver, IDIS executive director, told MindaNews last Aug. 26 that the reported diversion has affected the volume and quality of water coming from the river, the city’s next source of water supply.
But in an interview via Messenger Tuesday, Peñalver clarified that the information they received, which prompted an investigation by the committee on environment chaired by Ocampo, was subject to validation.
Ocampo also said the water service interruption from July 28 to 30 was not caused by a decrease in the water level at Tamugan River but the diversion of water to the facilities of Apo Agua for treatment.
Apo Agua is working with the Davao City Water District (DCWD) for the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project, which aims to shift Davao City’s dependence on groundwater wells as its main water supply to Tamugan River.
Apo Agua is in charge of water treatment but distribution to the consumers will remain with the DCWD.
Ocampo added that the widening of the river bed due to the recent flooding may have created the illusion that the water level in the river had gone down.
He assured that any diversion of water by Apo Agua would not be a major one. (Miah Christine Bontilao/MindaNews)
