by Dong delos Reyes July 10, 2021 Mayor Ramon A. Preza during the discussion of the impending Lumbo Spring Extraction with farmers' orga...
July 10, 2021
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| Mayor Ramon A. Preza during the discussion of the impending Lumbo Spring Extraction with farmers' organizations in Tiaong in Dolores town, Quezon on May 21, 2021. (Photo from Mayor Ramon Abad Preza FB account) |
TIAONG, Quezon - Irrigated paddies can yield at least 100 cavans of rice a hectare per cropping-- and with around two crop season yearly ensured by stable source of water, some 1,000 hectares of ricelands in Tiaong, Quezon can turn up about 200,000 cavans of rice annually to ensure food security for the Calabarzon region.
Potable river water from Mt. Banahaw in Dolores, Quezon serves more than Tiaong as the river flows through the towns of San Antonio and San Juan in Batangas before winding down Tayabas Bay, and joins the sea.
But the river is about to be staunched at its source as a private consortium composed of Udenna Water Integrated, Inc. of Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy, Inclam, S.A. and Optimus Engineering and Construction are set to descend on the source, Lumbo Spring to fit out a P103-million facility.
The facility called Lumbo Spring Bulk Water Supply Project of the San Pablo City Water District (SPCWD) and the Dolores Water District (DWD) will draw about 12 million liters of water daily from Lumbo Spring.
The water utility venture aims to supply treated bulk water from the spring to both San Pablo City and Dolores water districts-- to the woeful detriment of over 1,000 hectares of rice paddies and other areas devoted to high-value crops, livestock projects, and eco-tourism.
This early, unchecked expansion of swidden farms and upland settlements in the Mt. Banahaw areas have already caused lesser volume of water for irrigation and household use.
“There is a clear threat of irrigation water shortage due to the increasing number of water users both for domestic and agricultural use. The SPCWD-DWD proposed water project and the continuous decrease of water discharge will jeopardize the government’s thrust towards food security and will decrease farmers’ potential income,” warns the National Irrigation Administration Region IV-A (NIA) in a position paper.
Last month, the farmers appealed to Quezon Gov. Danilo Suarez to help put a stop to the Lumbo Spring water tapping which will inevitably lead to the drying up of their rice fields and touch off more hardships for thousands of families in the region.
For his part, Tiaong Municipal Mayor Ramon A. Preza also raised the concerns of locals and farmers in the region about the further reduction of water flow to their rice fields should the Lumbo Spring extraction project push through
Mayor Preza appealed that before any resource extractive activity is undertaken which will affect users downstream, there should be a public consultation in which all stakeholders are given the opportunity to discuss their concerns.
“Although drinking water is also one of the basic human needs to survive, our town strongly believes that there are other sources which the San Pablo City Water District can use to meet their needs,” the Tiaong mayor said, pointing to the seven San Pablo freshwater lakes, "which we believe may help to address their water needs without impeding on the needs of other municipalities and provinces."
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