NWRB presents Groundwater Studies at the National River Basin Summit 2022
NWRB Executive Director, Dr. Sevillo D. David Jr., CESO III was the first resource person at the National River Basin Summit 2022. He showcased NWRB’s Groundwater Assessment Studies in Selected Highly-Urbanized Water Constraint Cities in the Philippines held on March 15, 2022 via Zoom.
In his presentation, Executive Director David showed the results of NWRB’s groundwater management plan (GMP) conducted in the cities of Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Angeles and Baguio. He stated that the common challenges discovered in the studies are decreasing water availability due to low groundwater yields and low hydraulic heads, deteriorating water quality, increasing groundwater demand causing over extraction, limited knowledge on groundwater of surrounding communities, saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers and the inevitable impacts of climate change to groundwater.
As a result of these studies, the NWRB strengthens the management of the country’s invisible groundwater resources by making it visible through the use of groundwater observation wells, according to Dr. David. In total, there are forty-six (46) monitoring wells in different parts of the country. Groundwater allocation policies are also being implemented in the prioritized critical areas such as Metro Manila and Metro Cebu. The formulation of Groundwater Monitoring Plan (GMP) is also expanding beyond the nine (9) initially identified water-constraint areas.
Reactors from different government agencies involved in the water sector also presented their comments and recommendations based on the presentation of the NWRB Executive Director. Among the panelists are Ms. Marnette Puthenpurenkal of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), Mr. Aldrin O. Maranan of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and Mr. Othello L. Razon of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).
This event was organized by the DENR-River Basin Control Office (RBCO) as a kick-off activity of the Philippine Water Week and World Water Day 2022 celebrations.
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