MANILA — The Philippine government is pushing for various ways to conserve water on the industrial and residential level ahead of the expected onset of El Niño before the end of 2026, the National Water Resources Board said on Friday.
Water concessionaires have been advised as early as the first quarter of the year to start preparing their standby deep wells as water in reservoirs is expected to dip once the dry spell hits, NWRB Executive Director Sevillo David Jr. told state television PTV.
“Ito po yung mga deepwells na pwede pagkuhanan ng karagdagang tubig kung sakaling magkaroon ng additional na tubig na nanggagaling sa Angat Dam,” David said.
Angat, which supplies most of Metro Manila's water, currently has a water level of 208.8 meters, which is still below its normal high water level of 210 meters. David said they hope the level would rise to 212 meters before the end of the year.
Water allocation in the capital region households has been reduced to 42 cubic meters per second from the usual 50 cubic meters per second, while the irrigation sector now gets 20 cubic meters per second of water down from 35 cubic meters per second, David said.
“May abiso po tayo sa MWSS. Nakipagcoordinate na din sila sa concessionaire para ma-repair ang mga leak,” he said.
“Sa mga restaurant, kapag hindi humihingi ng tubig ay huwag bigyan kasi kapag yan ay binigyan tapos hindi ininom ay nasasayang po at malaking bagay po yan,” he said.
“Sa industries, yung pag-recycle ng tubig ay napakalaking aktibidades para mapangalagaan at makatulong sa kasalukuyang effort natin,” he added.
A study from the Climate Impact Lab at the University of Chicago earlier warned that the world might see 451,000 additional heat-related deaths this year as the “very strong” El Niño turbocharges global temperatures.
Extreme heat that started in June is expected to peak at the end of the year, projections from the study showed.
The Philippines’ state weather bureau said that the El Niño in the Philippines may develop into a "very strong" event by the last quarter of 2026 and persist until early 2027.