NWRB warns vs excessive deepwell water extraction

The National Water Resources Board (NWRB) has banned the over-extraction of water from deepwells and has teamed up with various local government units (LGUs) to enforce the prohibition.

The new NWRB order will prohibit the construction of deepwells all over Metro Manila and Rizal province, the groundwater levels of which have become “extremely critical.”

A 2004 ban on deepwell extraction covered areas that were earlier found to have critical groundwater levels: Guiguinto, Bocause, Marilao, and Meycauayan, in Bulacan; Navotas and North Caloocan; Quezon City; Pasig; Makati; Mandaluyong; Pateros; Parañaque; Pasay; Las Piñas; Muntinlupa; and Dasmariñas, Cavite.

NWRB executive director Ramon Alikpala said the excessive pumping of groundwater led to “an abrupt change in the sea level in the northern parts of Metro Manila. It was also revealed that the sea level rose at a rate of two to nine millimeters per year, according to a survey on Manila ’s south harbor.”

“It also leads to possible damage and destruction of infrastructures such as wells, buildings, bridges, and highways due to sudden shifts in land elevation. In addition, earth fissures occur in areas where land subsidence (or sinking) is great,” Alikpala said.

He added that floods take longer to subside in Caloocan , Malabon, Navotas, and Valenzuela (Camanava) – evidence of the effects of unregulated pumping of underground water sources – and that other areas and cities in Metro Manila are similarly affected.

Alikpala also cited that a physical and chemical analysis of water made by the Department of Health in Camanava found that the water contained critical levels of lead, fluoride, mercury, aluminum, cyanide, arsenic, boron, and manganese, chemicals that are deemed harmful to the nervous system.

The recent Metro Manila Councilors League First Inter-island Congress also advocated groundwater protection due to the adverse effects of groundwater extraction. Quezon City Councilor Bolet Banal has spearheaded the drive in Quezon City. San Juan has recently released a groundwater ordinance reiterating the need to abstain from deepwell use or ensure that abstraction of water is within the regulated standards. Other LGUs are expected to come out with their respective ordinances.