The city government is studying the possibility of tapping the river in Barangay Malayal, Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte, to augment the water supply of the Zamboanga City Water District (ZCWD).

Dr. Elmeir Jade Apolinario, City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) chief, said Monday that they already discussed the matter with the municipal officials of Sibuco.

“They said they will have to look at the proposal, which is beneficial not only to Zamboanga City but also to the whole municipality of Sibuco,” Apolinario said.

Apolinario said the interconnection of pipelines from the Malayal river towards the west coast of this city would require a huge amount of money.

He said another source the ZCWD is considering to tap as water source is the 70-hectare bog lake in Barangay San Roque here, adding samples of the water from the area have already been taken to a laboratory in Manila to determine its potability.

However, he expressed concern over the presence of at least a hundred families of informal settlers near the lake who needed to be resettled if the bog lake is chosen as an alternate source of water.

Apolinario stressed the value of finding a new water source since the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) made a projection that in 15 years’ time, many areas–including this city–will experience water shortage.

“Before, we encounter water (scarcity) problems every three or four years, but now it is almost every year, we do not have water,” Apolinario said. (PNA)