HYDROL 403
regional distribu&on of resources, the hydraulic hydraulic
5.3.5-GROUNDWATER EXPLORATION AND
characteris&cs of the a/uifer as well as the regional and
EXPLOITATION IN THE PHILIPPINES
temporal varia&ons of the water /uality are important
REPORTER: MA. CARMELA JOY V. NAGUM
factors. The recharge, the natural runo and groundwater groundwater abstrac&on rates have also to be known
Gro!"#$%&r $' $ R&'or(&
for sustainable groundwater management.
The Philippines obtains its water supply from dierent sources. These include: rainfall, rainfall, surface water resources, i.e. rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, and groundwater groundwater resources. It has 1 ma!or river basins and
The data re/uired for a resource assessment are obtained by
"#1 principal river basins as de$ned by the %a&onal 'ater (egulatory )oard *%'() +. In terms of groundwater, the country has an etensive groundwater groundwater reservoir with an aggregate area of about -, s/ km. 0ata from the ines and 2eosciences )ureau *2)+ show that several
hydrogeological hydrogeological eplora&on, observa&ons and measurements at boreholes and wells
geophysical inves&ga&ons on the earthAs surface
airborne geophysical surveys
satellite image analysis or meteorological observa&ons. number of geophysical standard standard methods
groundwater groundwater basins are underlain by about 1, s/
such as geoelectrics, transient electromagne&cs and
km of various rock forma&on and that these resources
airborne electromagne&cs are applied for
are located in:
groundwater groundwater eplora&on. The surface nuclear
%ortheast 3u4on
magne&c resonance method and the seismo6
5entral 3u4on 3aguna 3ake basin
electric method are rather new and they are s&ll being developed. 0atabases combined with 2I7
5avite6)atangas63aguna 5avite6)atangas63aguna basin
methods are used to store and display the data. The
7outheast 3u4on
data evalua&on, being digital and increasingly three6
indoro Island
dimensional, comprises all stages of conceptual to
%egros Island
numerical modelling.
%ortheast 3eyte 8rmoc69ananga basin gusan60avao basin
Gro!"#$%&r E)*+o%$,o!
8ccidental isamis basin
of water for irriga&on and human consump&on. 'ater
3anao6)ukidnon6isamis 3anao6)ukidnon6isamis basin
eploita&on is greatly connected with agriculture.
'ater eploita&on is referred to the etrac&on
2roundwater 2roundwater resources are con&nuously recharged by
%evertheless, a large contribu&on to water eploita&on
rain and seepage from rivers and lakes *P;, #<=
is connected with the industrial and residen&al sectors
;), #>+.
and, seasonally, with tourism. 'ater eploita&on can be
Gro!"#$%&r E)*+or$,o!
es&mated by Bthe eploita&on indeB that is de$ned as withdrawal of conven&onal freshwater resources
2roundwater 2roundwater eplora&on is the inves&ga&on of underground forma&ons to understand the hydrologic hydrologic cycle, know the groundwater groundwater /uality, and iden&fy the nature, number and type of a/uifers. ost of the li/uid freshwater resources are
*surface and groundwater+ over total renewable resources *epressed in @+. The proper eploita&on of ground g round water resources involves apart from the loca&on of suitable source, the construc&on of properly designed wells. The
stored underground as groundwater *??@+. The regional distribu&on on earth, however, varies and depends
design and the eecu&on of water supply systems and their maintenance is an integral part of the scheme of
mainly on clima&c condi&ons as well as the geology of
eplora&on and management. %umerous problems of
the subsurface. In contrast to many raw materials, a
ground water eplora&on C eploita&on re/uire
great amount of the groundwater is recharged in the
systema&c systema&c use of scien&$c techni/ues.
hydrologic hydrologic cycle by in$ltra&ng precipita&on. detailed knowledge on groundwater groundwater resources enables its sustainable use, where the
M$or *ro/+&' (o!(&r!!1 #$%&r '& $!" '($r(%2
0ispari&es between water supply and demand
e/uipped in terms of either manpower or
60espite the abundant water resources in the
resources.
Philippines, distribu&on of these resources
varies widely in &me and place as a result of the
6There is tremendous waste of water in
dierent geographic and climate condi&ons
distribu&on lines, irriga&on canals, and at
prevailing in dierent parts of the country
homes. IneJciency in water usage was
*)arba, P, #<+. 'ater resources are unevenly distributed throughout the country, oDen
eacerbated by the absence of regula&ons, economic incen&ves, and ins&tu&onal
resul&ng in water shortages in highly populated
arrangements needed to promote water
areas, especially during the dry season. 7everal
conserva&on and ra&onal use of water. part
river basins *Pampanga, gno, Pasig63aguna,
from increasing industrial and domes&c
and on the island of 5ebu+ are also eperiencing
demand, another contribu&ng factor to the
generali4ed water scarcity *P;, #"+.
water shortage in etro anila is the high level
3ack of water alloca&on formula
of water loss due to leaking pipes and illegal connec&ons.
6ost of the problems encountered in the water sector today arise from an issue of
0eple&on of groundwater resources 6Indiscriminate groundwater abstrac&on
increase of popula&on coupled with worsening
resul&ng to salt6intrusion are no&ceable in
pollu&on of water, lack of infrastructure and
etro anila and 5avite *(egion IK+, Iloilo
facili&es result in alloca&on issues and conEic&ng rights over limited water supply. The
*(egion KI+, and 5ebu *(egion KII+. The indiscriminate use of groundwater wells for
principle in the 'ater 5ode of B$rst in &me
residen&al and industrial areas due to the
priority in rightB may no longer be an e/uitable
failure of ma!or u&lity providers to service these
approach in resolving such conEicts. In &mes of
areas is the ma!or cause for the deple&on of the
drought or emergency, a na&onal policy eists
groundwater resources in the country.
Hragmented management
over all others within the limits of its water rights *%a&onal 'ater (esources )oard, 1?F>,
68ne of the most cri&cal issues confron&ng the Philippine water sector is the lack of an
as cited in Gose, . and 5ru4, %., 1???+.
appropriate ins&tu&onal framework to address
5orpora&ons also directly compete with the
issues of development and management of
people for the control and use of available
water and related resources. t present, there
freshwater resources
are over < government agencies and
6Hor instance, )enguet 5orpora&on, a .7.
departments separately dealing with water
mining $rm which is now venturing into the water business, holds >- water appropria&on
supply, irriga&on, hydropower, Eood control, pollu&on, watershed management, etc. It is this
permits issued by the %'(). The permits cover
fragmented approach to water management
ma!or creeks, springs, and rivers in the
which causes an overlap of work and conEicts
municipality of Itogon in )enguet province that
among agencies and results in a frac&onal water
communi&es use for their domes&c and
management plan that does not ade/uately
agricultural needs. In 7an Pablo 5ity, 3aguna,
meet the re/uirements for sustainability *)arba,
farmers and residents complain of declining water availability and blame the opera&on of a
#-+.
mineral water plant by %estle Philippines, Inc. *Padilla, ., #F+.
conEicts of use and water alloca&on. 'ith the
wherein domes&c water supply gets priority
IneJcient water use
'eak water use regula&on and enforcement 6The inves&ga&on and processing of water permit applica&ons cons&tute the type func&ons for which %'() is not properly
