Cebu City plans to build dams to meet water demand

COTABATO CITY— Cebu City is actively developing partnerships with private entities to build dams in the city’s mountain barangay to meet the growing demand for water and combat the intrusion of salt water into the city’s aquifers.

The initiative aims to collect more rainwater, recycle it into drinking water and supply it to the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD).

On Monday, Nov. 18, Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said the partnership will help the city increase its ability to meet water needs.

Garcia noted that while the city requires about 500-550 million liters of water per day (MLD), MCWD can only supply 200-250 MLD.

Water shortages have forced many residents to dig wells, which Garcia believes has exacerbated saltwater intrusion.

Garcia lamented the inefficient use of rainwater in the city, noting that only 10 percent of rainwater is stored while the remaining 90 percent is lost to the sea.

He stressed the importance of building dams to harvest and store rainwater and also highlighted the potential of desalination plants to solve the water crisis more quickly.

This is according to a report by MCWD General Manager Edgar Donoso, who provided the Cebu City Council with an update on the growing saltwater intrusion.

The report said several barangays, including Apas, Lahug and Pasil, have already begun to show signs of brackish groundwater.

Analysis of well water conductivity has placed some areas in the “moderately brackish” or “moderately brackish” categories, which pose health risks as salt water levels rise.

Donoso also shared concerns about the ongoing threat of salt water intrusion, saying it could reach Barangay Talamban by 2030 if illegal groundwater mining goes unchecked.

To address this issue, MCWD regularly monitors the situation and is pushing for stricter regulations against over-abstraction of groundwater by private entities.