As part of its effort to minimize the effects of El Niño which is expected to get stronger this month, the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) has started to save excess water during off-peak hours so this can be distributed when the demand increases.
Charmaine Rodriguez – Kara, public affairs department manager, said that they target to save 12,000 cubic meters of water supply a day.
“Consumers are not affected because we save water during off peak hours from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day. What we save is the excess water supply. We just implemented it this week and so far, we achieved the target amount of water a day,” Kara said.
Presently, MCWD’s water production remains normal at 22,000 cubic meter of water a day, giving a steady supply of water to its 165,000 consumers.
Starting next week, MCWD will issue a public advisory on its daily water production to inform the public if the water district’s water supply is already affected by the El Niño.
The rainfall in the past few days is not enough to recharge underground water sources said Kara. Cebu will have below normal rainfall this month.
As explained earlier by Oscar Tabada, chief meteorologist of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services (Pagasa) Visayas, there will be a 20 to 60 percent reduction of rainfall from September to November.
The normal average of rainfall for the month of September is 179.1 millimeters of rain.
Alfredo Quiblat, chief for Pag-asa Mactan, said that strong El Niño has already started.
The weather agency also forecasted that in December until early next year, drought or below normal rainfall will be experienced.
MCWD and Pag-asa have repeatedly issued public reminders to store and save water.
Kara said high demand of water is in laundry shops, water refilling stations, boarding houses and dormitories.
Water saving tips can be done at home like using a basin to wash dishes and reusing the gray water for flushing.
Water from the laundry can also used in cleaning the house, the car or for flushing the toilet.
Use brooms, not water hoses, in cleaning the garage or porch.
Store rainwater for watering garden plants on rainless days or for cleaning the house, car or garage.