water supply
Unreliable water sources, insufficient supply, and poor quality of water serve as obstacles to water provision in Tagbilaran and have implications on the social as well as economic well- being of the city. Inadequate water supply stymies growth in tourism and industry and provides insufficient support for the agricultural sector. Furthermore poor water quality has serious implications on the health and well being of the city’s residents.
Water demand in Tagbilaran is increasing commensurate with population growth, a strengthening economy and technological advances. The cost of development of groundwater resources for urban and rural provision is generally low particularly when compared to surface water and can be accomplished by both public and private developers. For this reason, the development of groundwater in both developed and developing countries has tended to be done on a smaller scale than surface water. The development of springs and wells requires relatively low capital costs as compared to surface water undertakings such as dams, weirs and reservoirs; therefore both public and private interests were able to utilise groundwater supplies. Modes of extraction include developed and undeveloped springs, shallow dug wells, artesian wells, where water in a confined aquifer rises to the surface under its own pressure, and deep wells in which pumps are used to lift water to the surface. Water abstraction has increased over time in line with technological advances, for example, well drilling, pump technology, rural electrification and improved understandings of hydrogeology (Foster, et al., 2000).
In Tagbilaran, the municipal waterworks utilities use deep wells to supply water for urban consumers; some households also have access to springs and shallow wells and at least one commercial enterprise has its own deep wells.73
In Tagbilaran demand for municipal water supply has steadily increased from 7,792 m3 per day in 1997 to 10,993 m3 per day in 2003. The rate of increase in demand is currently estimated at 2 percent per month and is partly due to the corresponding high rate of population growth and concomitant housing constructions as well as the expansion of the service area to existing dwellings and commercial buildings. Changes in lifestyle have also led to an increase in water consumption; for example the increase in the numbers of washing machines, private vehicle ownership and washing of vehicles, rising popularity of showers as opposed to dipper style bathing are all activities that use greater quantities of water. There are also fears that the presence and gradual increase of squatter housing along the foreshore will further threaten water quality (see Plate 5-2).
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The Coca Cola plant in Tagbilaran has three of its own pumping stations and also taps into one of the waterworks utilities’ network to supplement its consumption (WW#1).
Photo by Fisher, 2004
Plate 5-2: Litter in harbour, Tagbilaran.
The encroachment of stilt housing into the harbour has implications on water quality, particularly in terms of sewage and improper disposal of household waste and litter as illustrated above.
The relationship between water and development is complex since water is an integral input for economic growth and human well-being, and development can increase pressure on water resources both in terms of quantity and quality. As mentioned in Chapter 4 (Section 4.2), groundwater resources in Tagbilaran are vulnerable to a number of anthropogenic threats as a consequence of urban growth and development. The threats identified were saltwater intrusion as a consequence of over-pumping, groundwater contamination because of improper solid waste disposal and inadequate sewerage and sanitation, and urban expansion into recharge areas.
Saltwater intrusion into aquifers as a consequence of over-pumping was identified in Tagbilaran as early as the 1980s and is due to pressure to meet increasing demand. Saltwater intrusion is also a problem experienced in coastal areas in Metro Cebu and Metro Manila as well as other parts of the Philippines (Clemente, Abracosa, David, Inocencio and Tabios, 2001). To overcome this problem, waterworks utilities have sought to locate pumping stations at least two kilometres from the coastline and to change their pumping practices. To this end, an interview with a representative of one of Tagbilaran’s waterworks utilities identified the importance of changing pumping practices “to ensure that there is not pumping beyond the safe yield; therefore, there is no overdrafting” (WW#2).
In urban areas throughout the Philippines the inappropriate disposal of household waste is reported as a major cause of water pollution primarily because of leachate contamination from
unsanitary landfills (Coxhead and Jayasuriya, 2003). Improper disposal of household solid waste threatens the quality of groundwater sources in Tagbilaran, where household and commercial refuse is currently dumped in an unsanitary, open dumpsite – a sinkhole – in barangay Dampas (see Plate 5-3). Groundwater sampling conducted at wells near the site in 2001 showed high levels of lead and other contaminants as a consequence of leachate entering the underlying groundwater (Fraser, 2004). This has implications for water quality extending beyond the dumpsite area as a consequence of hydrological flow patterns. In addition, there are a number of families living at or very close to the dumpsite currently engaged in the collection and sale of recyclable materials at the dumpsite as an informal livelihood activity (as depicted in Plate 5-4). These families tend to be very poor and reliant on public wells in order to obtain water for their household needs, and are, therefore, exposed to the risk of low quality water as a result of leachate contamination.74
Photo by Fisher, 2003.
Plate 5-3: Tagbilaran City dumpsite, Dampas, Tagbilaran.
The dumpsite in Dampas has been the primary destination for Tagbilaran’s solid waste for over 20 years and is now a source of concerns as related to air, land and water pollution as well as human health.
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I observed at least one decommissioned well near to the dumpsite on an excursion there in late 2004, and I was informed that this was closed because of heavy metal contamination.
Photo by Fisher, 2003.
Plate 5-4: Garbage pickers working in the Dampas dumpsite, Tagbilaran.
Garbage pickers separate recyclable materials at the Dampas dumpsite in Tagbilaran as a livelihood activity and frequently live nearby. This exposes them to a myriad of health risks.
There are also concerns about contamination of groundwater resources because of inadequate sewerage treatment. Tagbilaran lacks a sewerage system and instead relies on septic tanks. Despite Building Code regulations requiring properly sealed and constructed septic tanks, in many cases septic tanks are not properly constructed and are instead simple ground excavations without cement flooring or walling or worse, natural sinkholes are used as disposal sites. The risk of contamination of underground water sources is, therefore, high given the karst nature of Tagbilaran and the ease with which liquids percolate in this type of landscape.75
There is a general lack of understanding amongst people, however, regarding the hazard that liquid waste poses to underground sources, which has been blamed for the problem of improper construction of septic tanks (City of Tagbilaran, 2001). This sentiment was reinforced by conversations with those in government (PG#1 and PG#2).
Urban land use development and construction of new buildings and dwellings in the city’s recharge areas also has the potential to adversely affect groundwater availability. The
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There have been reports in the Bohol Chronicle of high faecal coliform counts in other parts of
the Province such as Dauis and Panglao (Bohol Chronicle, 2000a; 2000g; Ligalig, 2005d), but I did not encounter any such reports for Tagbilaran. However, there were anecdotal reports and suggestions from other people that I spoke to that there were high faecal coliform counts in the
harbour caused by improper septic systems in adjacent barangays. Water quality testing for
drinking water is undertaken to ensure water supplies are safe; I was told that Tagbilaran water sources were well within accepted health standards.
expansion of paved areas and soil compaction affect surface permeability, infiltration and subsurface water recharge, which increases the risks of stormwater flooding of surface runoff water particularly in locations with poor drainage systems and affects recharge and discharge patterns (Foster, 2001; Niemczynowicz, 1999). In Tagbilaran, there are some incidences of flooding partly due to the natural low-lying topography of the city but also because of human modifications such as paving, undersized drainage pipes and blockages as a result of silt and rubbish. The ways in which economic and social growth and water governance have been addressed and reconciled in Tagbilaran are related to the ways in which development and water governance discourses are articulated in national and local-level policy.
5.5
Summary
Urban growth in Tagbilaran since the early 1990s has been significantly more rapid than the national average. This growth has its roots in regional processes whereby the Central Visayas has gained in importance for the national economy as well as provincial processes whereby Tagbilaran is the most significant urban area in Bohol. This growth has also been propelled by improvements in communications, technology and accessibility and will likely continue into the future. The local economy is largely service- and trade based although it is anticipated that tourism will play a major role in the city’s economy in the future partially as a spill over from tourism development on neighbouring Panglao Island. Changes in economic circumstances and improved waterworks distribution networks, together with a growing economy and population are the key factors forcing demand for municipal water higher. However, negative externalities associated with this growth have already started to affect groundwater resources in Tagbilaran.
In Part Three, I theorise hybridity and water governance in order to conceptualise the water governance system that has emerged in Tagbilaran. In the following chapter I consider the interactions between the formal institutions and mechanisms regulating water resources and development in the Philippines with the ways in which water resources are represented in policy at varying levels. Chapter 6 focuses on mapping institutional hybridity across multiple scales. Chapter 7 focuses on hybridity in the context of Tagbilaran’s waterworks system.