Vice Gov. Jose Baldado yesterday reiterated his warning against a looming water crisis in Negros Oriental, as the remaining forest cover in the province is only 4 percent, a far cry from its 90 percent wooded areas in the 1880’s.

Baldado said the diminishing forest cover has made water a critical resource, as “one of the main sources of water is the forest.”

The lack of trees results to the rainwater flowing directly to the ocean, instead of getting absorbed into the soil, he said.

With the presence of the trees, the rainwater is gradually absorbed into the soil, forming into water tables, a process that Baldado described as a re-charging effect.

Without trees, the water flows into the ocean, bringing with it tons of top soil, he said.

Recognizing the threat of an impending water crisis, the provincial government together with the German Technical Cooperation has formed the Provincial Water Sanitation Development Council, which aims to take aggressive steps in ensuring water resource management in Negros Oriental.

The PWSDC is composed of government agencies concerned with water like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Public Works and Highways, National Irrigation Administration and the health and academe sectors.

Meanwhile, Baldado also noted the lack of government-initiated programs on water management and wants to have a concrete program on how to sustain water sources.

He said the illegal water diversions in Balugo, Valencia and Sibulan is one of the problems affecting water sources, including the Banica River and its proximity to the Dumaguete City dumpsite.

Another problem cited by Baldado was coliform contamination. He said, between 1995 and 2004, sampling sites along the Negros Oriental rivers have reached a high degree of total coliform contamination to 95 percent.

The same data also showed high fecal coliform contamination (directly derived from human or animal waste) from all sampling sites along the Negros Oriental rivers that are way beyond the Class B water quality standards, he said.*MA/RG

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