41% of All Filipino Families Lack Access to Clean Water

March 22nd was World Water Day which is an annual United Nations observance to highlight the importance of fresh water. In the Philippines almost half of all families lack access to fresh water. Let's take a look at some statistics compiled by National Water Resource Board executive director Dr. Sevillo David Jr.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/20/23/11-million-filipino-families-lack-access-to-clean-water-nwrb

Some 11 million families lack access to clean water in the Philippines, an official said on Monday. 

These families are forced to rely on "unprotected" deep wells, springs, rivers, lakes and rainwater, said National Water Resource Board executive director Dr. Sevillo David Jr.

(Almost 11 million families do not have access to clean water yet. The water source for 11 million families is almost unsafe.)

The Philippines is home to some 26.3 million families, according to 2020 government data.  

Lack of sanitation has also forced some families to defecate in the open, risking water contamination and diseases, David said. 

11 million out of 26.3 million is 41%!!!  Do these people pay taxes? Those taxes should go to projects like providing fresh water but they have been left out in the cold by the government which they are forced to support. Open defecation does indeed taint the water supply and I have gone through the stats showing how many people die each year from diarrhea due to tainted water. One wonders how Filipinos survived for thousands of years before the Spanish came. Did Lapulapu take a dump near his water source?  

Water supply also often becomes an issue during the dry season, he noted.

(We have enough water supply for now. But the PAGASA says El Niño is looming.) 

El Niño is characterized by below-normal rainfall conditions, which could lead to dry spells and droughts in some areas of the country, according to the state weather forecaster. 

(We need to prepare for this as it could affect our water supply, particularly in our farms.)

Asked what the government is doing to solve water issues, David cited President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos' order to create a water resource management office.

(This office will be in charge of coordinating various government agencies which have water programs and activities. More than 13 agencies have a role or have a program on water and our President wants to have coordination to provide security and relief to the needs of our countrymen.)

David's statement comes days before World Water Day, celebrated every March 22 to raise awareness on the water and sanitation crisis. 

Of course the government's answer is more bureaucracy.  Let's take a look though. 

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/01/23/marcos-oks-new-water-resource-management-office

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has approved the creation of an office that will manage water resources and ensure sufficient supply, Malacañang said on Wednesday. 

Marcos suggested that the new Water Resource Management Office's (WRMO) first task "should be reducing the country’s reliance on groundwater and deep wells, as well as managing surface water supply," the Presidential Communications Office said. 

"We have sufficient... there’s enough water in the Philippines hindi lang natin ginagamit, tinatapon natin,” Marcos said.

(It's not being used, we're wasting it.)

The new body will also ensure that other agencies would follow a plan for waste management. 

"That’s why we have to strengthen the mandate of the Water Management Office. We have to bring them (agencies) together so that they are all following the overall plan,” Marcos said. 

"This new Water Management Office, it has to be cohesive in the sense that kailangan ‘yung recommendation ng management office sinusundan," he added. 

(The recommendation of the management office should be followed.)

Who is distributing the water now? Who is not following the overall plan now? This is all malarky. Marcos wants to create another bureaucracy which won't do anything except cost the taxpayers more money and be another conduit for corruption. But the question remains. How did Filipinos survive on clean water before the Europeans came and why can't they do that now? Almost half of all Philippine families do not have access to clean water and the government's response is to create another bureaucracy? Ridiculous!

Defective Unit For Replacement

It's mind boggling how a person can take something so easy and simple and transform it into something very hard and complicated. Take this broken water fountain for instance.

Can you read the "Out of Order" sign on this water fountain?  No, because there isn't one.  Instead there is this rather cumbersome and awkward message.

Not only is the English bad but they set a target completion date a whole month away! Is repairing this water fountain really that involved of a project that they have to set aside a whole month to fix it? And what if the target date is not met? What if this water fountain does not get repaired until October? Or even December!?

You can't even see this sign until you are already bent over to take a sip of water. That's then you realise you got gypped. What a waste of your time. Here you are expecting a cool burst of water to cool your throat and some idiot maintenance man who was thinking way too hard decided to write a convoluted and un-understandable message in tiny print which you can't read until you walk up to the fountain. By then it's too late for you sucker!

Frankly I don't care if it ever gets repaired all I want is a drink of cold water. Courtesy would dictate that patrons be told if the fountain is in working condition or not. Instead of this stupid message they should have just placed a huge "Out of Order" sign on the water fountain.

See how much easier and convenient that is for everyone involved?

Blackout

There was a blackout from 4am until 3pm on Sunday. I didn't think they would really start so early but they did. I was awake in the dark for a few hours but thats ok because with no lights anywhere, not even on the very busy street/highway, the stars were more clearly visible than ever.  You could stare deep into the heart of the galaxy and marvel at the thin wispy band of the Milky Way sweeping across the sky.

Beautiful isn't it? If only I had a camera that could photograph the miracle that is the night sky.

A blackout means no internet! (Some would say Globe also means no internet.)

Being cut off from the internet is not so terrible. I spend too much time here anyway and I have many obligations that need taking care of.  

The biggest hardship of any blackout where I live is that the water station pump is hooked into the grid so that means no water for as long as the blackout plus as long as it takes for the water company to turn it back on. Until then you have to conserve the buckets you filled up the night before. (Thankfully the electric company gives notice of blackouts before they happen.)

The water did not turn back on until an hour and fifteen minutes after the electricity. 

This blackout was planned but the next one will unexpectedly occur when the transformer up the street randomly explodes in the middle of the night as it does too often.

The Plumber

For months the kitchen sink faucet had been leaking.  It was easily jury-rigged with a stick pressed against the pipe to lessen the leak.

Dramatic reenactment

The fix looked a bit like this. Over time the stick became waterlogged, shrunk, and the leak worsened. It was time to call a plumber. I wanted a professional but as these are hard to find, you can't just go online and find one easily, I was stuck with hiring a guy who is not a plumber but can easily fix your pipes because he's experimented enough to know where to stick what. He also fixed the toilet before.

So he comes over, takes everything apart, and says all we need is tape. Immediately my gut is killing me.  Tape?  Are you sure it's a matter of tape and not a broken pipe? He is positive its just a matter of enough tape.  So I fork over 30 pesos to the helper who goes out to fetch some from up the street.  All the while I am saying out loud and to myself, "There is no way it's a matter of tape. The pipe is obviously busted."

The helper returns, the plumber tapes up the pipe and puts everything back together and....it's still leaking.  He takes it all apart again and looks at the pipe this time and golly what do you know? The pipe is cracked! 

Can you see the crack? It's very slight and its on the bottom of the threaded portion of the pipe. I fork over more money to the helper to buy a pipe.  As he runs off on his errand the plumber whips out his plumber's saw and slices off a piece of pipe.  

Why would he do that you ask? Because he is going to use it to marry those two pieces near the can of epoxy. He glues the pieces together and then wraps the end in tape. (Why is it always tape? Whether it's plumbing or electrical work you can count on Filipinos using tape to hold it all together.)

Look at all that tape!  What a mess!

 All right!  Finished. Looking good and now it's all put back together.  

 Let's turn it on!

Oh no! The jury-rigged pipe covered in tape is leaking!  What a surprise!  What's the solution?  To send the helper out for one more piece of pipe which the plumber then marries to the other pieces with the epoxy. Will it work?

The pipe is not bursting at the seams like before so it's a success.  Right?  Wrong. There is still a slight leak at the wall. Kind of like a dribble. Solution?  If you said more tape, congratulations you are a winner.

See how now the base of the pipe is covered in tape? I don't know if that actually fixed the leak 100% but it's good enough for the plumber and it's as good as I am going to get. And that's pretty much how it is here.  You end up settling for what's good enough because there's never anything better.

Water Turned off in the Middle of A Shower

I was in the middle of a shower when the water cut off. So I shouted down, "Hey I need the water!"  "No one is using the water," came the reply.  That's when it hit me in an instant and everything became clear.  Just an hour ago while walking the dog I saw the water service truck pass by towards the well.  Obviously they were doing some work and had turned off the water.  

Fuming and wet I slid back into my sweaty workout shorts and biked on over to give them a piece of my mind.

"What's going on?  Why did you turn the water off?  I was in the middle of a shower!," I shouted my body now wet with sweat and scummy with dry soap.

"Oh sorry sir.  We turned it off for safety reasons."

"What safety reasons?"

"We are welding sir and need to keep the pump engine safe."

Now what is this guy even talking about?  They are welding a tow latch which has nothing to do with the water pump engine.  Take a look at how far away the engine is from where this guy is working.

It's housed inside a tiny building.

What safety risk is there?  Seems dubious. They often turn off the water for seemingly no reason.  Anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour.

"When will the water be turned back on?", I asked.

"Maybe thirty minutes, sir."

It was a little longer than that but not too long.  Miraculously the water did not run black and greasy when they turned it back on.

Irregular water and electric service.  That is a way of life in the Philippines.

Don't Drink the Tap Water

You don't want to drink water out of the tap when you come to the Philippines. It's not very tasty because it's full of grime and dirt. You could also end up swallowing an amoeba or something worse and then you will be real sick. 

This is what the water looks like after a blackout. During a blackout the well pumps shut off and when they start back up they pump out nothing but oily black goo for a good five minutes, sometimes longer. Occasionally there is also a sulphur smell. Just imagine how disgusting the inside of the pipes must be after carrying all that black gunk. So even when the water is clear it's definitely not clean.

When the well pumps are working regularly the water is so full of chlorine it's disgusting. You can taste it when you brush your teeth and when you take a shower.

       Tap water            vs             filtered water

No one here drinks the tap water.  You can bathe in it, wash the clothes with it, brush your teeth with it, give to the dogs, but don't drink it.

Instead get your water purified

and delivered right to your front door!

 

These guys will come once a week or you can call them when you need a refill. Straight from the filtering station to you.  

So always remember: Don't Drink the Tap Water!