Wawa Dam pushed as alternative water source

Manila, Philippines - The Wawa Dam in Rizal province is the most feasible and immediate water source for Metro Manila in the event of a water crisis, according to a firm that owns the rights to the Wawa river system.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) should “take a more serious look at our Wawa Dam project instead of promoting Laiban Dam,” Oscar Violago, president and CEO of the San Lorenzo Ruiz Builders and Developers (SLRB), said in a letter to ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda.

Violago said Laiban Dam’s “proponents backed out from the project long ago. Based on the statement of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, it will take 10 years before construction can even begin... since more than 5,000 families will be displaced and relocated.”

The ADB earlier warned that Metro Manila should develop new water sources and depend less on Angat Dam since damage to the dam or a long dry spell would undermine the metropolis’ water supply.

Violago said that the SLRB will reforest the Wawa watershed. He said the Wawa Dam project’s construction will take three and a half years, the same period given for the Angat Dam’s rehabilitation.

“No other alternative water sources, least of all, Laiban Dam, can match this rapid completion timetable,” he said.