Maasin dam water level reaches 93.62 meters mark
At 93.75 meters above sea level, it is considered that Maasin watershed, the main water source of the province and city of Iloilo, has reached its critical level.
But recently, this water level ebbed to 93.62 meters above sea level.
“Nagausmod-usmod na gid. Subong, indi na gid normal ang level kang tubig ta,” said Ruben Favila, dam operator of the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD).
MIWD, the sole water distributor of the city, extracts water from the Tigum River through an intake dam in Brgy. Daja, Maasin town. It also gets its supply from seven pumping stations in deep wells in Oton and San Miguel.
Favila said that it is very critical and a cloud seeding could somehow ease the problem.
“Tama gid ka kritikal. Dapat mag-overflow para mabalik sa normal ang pressure sang tubig,” he added.
Favila claimed that last week’s one-hour downpour of rain had relieved the alarming water level at the Maasin watershed.
However, it proved to be short-lived.
For Favila, it needs some three days of rain before the water level would return to normal.
The dam operator predicted that the water level would even decrease if no rain will pour next month.
Meanwhile, presidential candidate and environmentalist Nicanor Perlas, who was born in Maasin, Iloilo, was recently in his hometown.
He also visited the watershed and was surprised by its condition.
Aside from the effects of El Niño, Perlas claimed that the system of tree planting and siltation also affects the watershed.
He also expressed fear that the watershed won’t be restored.
That’s why, he advocated for the establishing of a desalination plant in Iloilo City.
“Expensive siya but it the end desalination will be very important,” he claimed.
By desalination, Wikipedia explains that it “refers to any of several processes that remove excess salt and other minerals from water. More generally, desalination may also refer to the removal of salts and minerals.”
Water is desalinated in order to convert salt water to fresh water so it is suitable for human consumption or irrigation.
It is used on many seagoing ships and submarines. Most of the modern interest in desalination is focused on developing cost-effective ways of providing fresh water for human use in regions where the availability of fresh water is limited.
Large-scale desalination typically uses extremely large amounts of energy as well as specialized, expensive infrastructure, making it very costly compared to the use of fresh water from rivers or groundwater.
