Yesterday’s brief rainshower did little to raise the water level at Buhisan Dam, among the primary sources of water in Metro Cebu, but at least it gave a pleasant early morning respite for what promises to be warmer days ahead.
The state weather bureau Pagasa confirmed as much, saying that yesterday morning’s rains came as a result of the buildup of warm air currents which eventually resulted in excess water vapor and then rain.
Whether we would experience similar cases of downpour in the next few weeks, we can never tell; but what we do know is that the weather has become less and less predictable, no thanks to climate change.
For now, the warmer weather has signaled the start of summer for a lot of Cebu residents, and among the concerns is the declining water supply that may worsen once the summer heat goes full throttle next month.
While Cebu City and the province announced that they already had contingency measures in place to supply upland barangays which will be drastically hit by low-water supply, we have yet to hear similar announcements from the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu.
Still, the onset of the summer heat painfully reminds us of last year’s El Niño dry spell or drought in which Metro Cebu’s faucets had run bone dry and households had to stock up on water by the drums to ensure that they can have water to drink, wash and bathe for the day.
The Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD) already rang the alarm bells, so to speak, by saying that the water level in the Buhisan Dam is approaching critical level.
It is in times like these when we are again reminded of the necessity to build water cisterns of our own in every household in order to stock up on rainwater.
We don’t lack the technology, know-how or the resources to do this, but we have taken rainwater for granted and had even considered it as an inconvenience during the rainy season.
There had even been days when the total volume of rainfall equaled a whole week’s worth of rain. Imagine if we can collect all the rainwater during that period and use it to water our plants, wash our dishes and clothes and even use as bath water during the summer season.
Local governments had been advised to install water catchments but had never gotten around to doing it; thus wasting all that rainwater which returns to the sea.
No thanks to overpopulation and a water distribution pipeline network badly in need of upgrading, Metro Cebu’s water supply problems have grown so acute with every passing year.
Rather than confine ourselves to upgrading our drainage systems, let’s also build water catchment facilities to collect and put all that rainwater to good use. As it is, we don’t have to wait for summer to end before doing this.