Water shortage hits 1,500 Agusan homes
SAN FRANCISCO, AGUSAN DEL SUR—Over the past 30 years, the once-degraded 1,658-hectare Mt. Magdiwata has gradually been covered with lush forest vegetation. But the green cover has not been enough to ensure a steady water supply as the ongoing El Niño reduces rainfall in the area.
At least 1,500 households have experienced limited or no tap water since the end of July, with elevated portions of three poblacion barangays and neighboring Barangay Alegria among the hardest hit, according to the San Francisco Water District (SFWD).
The rehabilitated forests of Mt. Magdiwata help slow runoff, allowing rainwater to seep into the ground and replenish the watershed.
But weeks of below-normal rainfall have severely reduced the watershed’s stored water volume.
Elmer Luzon, SFWD general manager, said rainfall at Mt. Magdiwata dropped sharply during the first three weeks of July, reducing the watershed’s yield.
Villager Regnar Gador Edrabel criticized the lack of a permanent solution to the city’s recurring water problems.
“We are always staying awake waiting for the water,” he wrote on social media.
Engineer Leonilo Tandog Jr., chief of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said the local government plans to acquire a water filtration truck.
Tandog said the municipal government has been conducting water rationing in coordination with the SFWD.
Mauro Bravo Jr., a retired public works district engineer, has proposed building a large water-impounding facility in the upper portion of Mt. Magdiwata to capture rainwater.
