LINGAYEN, Pangasinan, Feb. 5 (PIA) — The provincial government of Pangasinan is pushing for the regulation of the use of groundwater in the province to further conserve and sustain an adequate supply of water.
During the regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) held on January 29, members of the board passed Proposed Ordinance No. 53-2004 entitled “Regulating the use of groundwater in the Province of Pangasinan” on first reading and referred it to the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy and the Committee on Laws and Ordinances.
Vice Governor Mark Ronald Lambino, who authored the ordinance, said it aims to ensure a sustainable potable water supply while preserving the environment and ecological balance by regulating and monitoring the use of groundwater within its territorial jurisdiction.
“Indiscriminate drilling and excavation of wells, as well as unregulated use and excessive extraction of groundwater, not only dry up scarce water sources but also destroy the environment, resulting in contamination by toxic or hazardous materials, seepage, and chemical residues,” Lambino said in the ordinance.
Lambino said the ordinance is in line with the national laws implemented by the National Water Resources Board (NWRB).
The ordinance stated that indiscriminate drilling and excavation of wells may lead to land subsidence or a decline in land surface elevation, which can cause flooding, pipeline breakage, or even the collapse of buildings and other structures.
According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the NWRB’s updated Master Plan on Water Resources Management in the Pangasinan River Basin and Tigum Aganan River Basin, an estimated 60 percent of groundwater withdrawals in the Pangasinan river basin come from unregistered wells.
The agencies disclosed that saltwater intrusion is often observed in deep wells, and adequate underground surveys and checking of groundwater quality should be conducted before groundwater development in the Pangasinan river basin.
“The NWRB has further concluded in its Study on Integrated Water Resources Management for Poverty Alleviation and Economic Development in the Pangasinan river basin in the Republic of the Philippines (2011) that the depletion of groundwater in the provinces of Bulacan, Pangasinan, and Nueva Ecija has been accelerated because of inadequate groundwater use regulation in those areas, in particular, the excessive abstraction of groundwater within the Pangasinan river basin is causing the deterioration of the quality of groundwater and lowering of groundwater level and land subsidence,” the ordinance reads.
Sanggunian Secretary, Verna Nava-Perez said once the ordinance is approved at the committee level, it will be calendared for plenary deliberation on second reading.
Once the ordinance is effective, owners and/or operators of wells without NWRB permits and the requisite local government unit permits shall be penalized.
Based on the proposed ordinance, violators will be penalized amounting to P5,000 or imprisonment for three months. (JCR/AMB/EMSA/PIA Pangasinan)
