Action Plan to Mitigate the Effects of El Niño
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Sablayan Water District Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro O C O C R I O DE D NTAL M IN Action Plan to Mitigate the Effects of El Niño November, 2015 to June, 2016 1 Introduction “When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water” -Benjamin Franklin Water is absolutely essential for the vitality of a community. In fact, Sablayan Water District, on its 25th year of operation (1990 to present), indubitably justifies it. Today, Sablayan is dubbed as a new “boomer” in terms of economic activities. Commercial establishments mushroomed not only in the town proper but also in the nearby barangays- a scenario that pictures urbanization making Sablayan closer to its slogan: “City- like Sablayan!” On the other hand, while the District is on its way of uplifting the quality of life and economic vitality of Sablayeños as stated on its vision, the threat of possible shortage of water emerged. Population growth placed Sablayan’s water resources under pressure and this could possibly be intensified by climate change. To figure it out clearly “Sablayan is now in no-escape to face one of the biggest challenges of its generation: to maintain and sustain water supply for tomorrow’s Sablayan. Hence, this Action Plan is design to guide the District in meeting this challenge. It particularly discussed on how to mitigate the expected effects of El Niño that will last in the next three quarters until June, 2016 as forecasted by PAGASA. Through successful implementation of this plan, the District believes that its “essential resource” will efficiently be delivered to all of its constituents as it faces the challenge of El Niño phenomenon. 2 I. Natural and Baseline Settings I.1- Physical Profile of Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro I.1a- Location Sablayan is the central town of mainland Occidental Mindoro province. It is 91 kilometers from Mamburao, the province capital and 73 kilometers from San Jose, the most developed town of the province. It is bounded on the east by the province of Oriental Mindoro, on the west by China Sea, on the north by the town of Sta. Cruz and on the south by the town of Calintaan. There are three leisure ways to reach Sablayan. First, is by sea from Batangas, Manila and Visayan Islands; second, is by land from north and south section of the province; and third, is by air through private aircrafts. Sablayan has a total land area of 2, 188.80 sq. meters. It has twenty two (22) Barangays. I.1b- Topography Sablayan is characterized by mountain ranges, intermittent valleys and elongated plateau with rolling prairie lands along the coastal regions. The entire coast of the Sablayan boasts of a rich fishing ground but its main asset is its broad stretch of fertile land. I.1c- Soil Type Types of soil in Sablayan vary from different types of loam and clay which are suitable for cultivation, pasture or forestry to hydrosol and river wash which are good for wildlife. I.1d- General Geology The core of Sablayan is dominated by a broad expense of basement complex rocks of pre-Jurassic age. This rock is overlapped and conformably underlain by a thick sequence of volcanic and sedimentary rocks that range in age from Jurassic to Quaternary. Exposed on the South-eastern portion of Sablayan are the basement complex rock formation that consists of undifferentiated schist and quartzite. Andal et al (1966) in his 3 geological mapping of Mindoro observed that the oldest and most widespread rocks are the metamorphosed sedimentary rocks or basement complex. I.1e- Tropical Cyclone Sablayan is rarely visited by tropical cyclone. At least 18% of the tropical cyclone crosses the geographic zone to which the province belongs in one year. These weather disturbances affect the area mostly from June to September during the prevalence of the southwest monsoon. However, a considerable number of tropical cyclones also occur from October to December during the northeast monsoon season. Tropical cyclones contribute 4% of the average annual rainfall amounts from June to December. I.1f- Cloudiness The average daily sky coverage is about 5 octal which means 5 out of 8 part of the sky is covered with clouds. Cloudy months are from June to September with observed cloudiness of at most 6 octal. Relatively clear skies occur during the months of February to May while partially cloudy skies occur during the months of October to December. I.1g- Water Resources Sablayan has abundant water sources such as springs, groundwater, rivers and surface water. Springs are generally in rolling slopes in the rural barangays. Some are developed for household consumption because of the good quality of water discharge. Sablayan has four (4) major rivers namely: Amnay, Mongpong, Patrick and Busuanga rivers. These rivers carry clear and fresh water and mainly used for agricultural irrigations. There are also lakes and ponds in the municipality namely: Libuao, Panikian, Tabtaban and Yapang Lake. While in the coastal built-up areas, groundwater is hard due to dissolve salts. I.1h- Aerial Extent of Groundwater Area Groundwater map of Occidental Mindoro includes the approximate extent of shallow well areas, deep well areas and difficult areas with their corresponding average static water levels, average specific capacities and average well depth of specific area in the province. 4 Hydro-geologic units of Occidental Mindoro indicate that shallow well areas are most likely to occur in recent formations composed of alluviums, beach deposits and coral reefs. These areas are concentrated along the coastal towns on the western part of the province like main town of Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro. Deep well areas make 25% of 1,470 sq. km. of the provincial areas. This is underlain by Pliocene-Pleitocene marine clastics overlain by pyroclastic of extrusive rocks. These areas are disseminated particularly in the Southern part covering most of the areas in San Jose, Rizal and Calintaan. On the Northern part of the province, deep well areas are found in the Eastern portion of Sablayan, Santa Cruz and Mamburao. I.2- Socio Economic Indicators I.2a- Population The Municipality of Sablayan has a total population of 76,153 people based on the 2010 population census. I.2b- Health and Sanitation Sablayan has a district hospital and a mission catholic hospital which serves general services like medical, minor surgical, urinalysis and other laboratory services, dental and x- ray. Health services are extended on expanded programs like immunization, family planning, free consultation, health and sanitation, maternal and child care, pre-natal and post natal services, health education, environmental sanitation and outreach medical mission. To augment health services on different barangays, health center was established and this is maintained through coordinated efforts of the local officials and Barangay Health Units (BHU). I.3- Infrastructure and Physical Facilities of Sablayan I.3a- Drainage System Sablayan has no drainage and sewage layout to carry run-off and wastewater to a safe disposal point. There is drainage along major roadsides in the town proper but some 5 areas are flooding during rainy season. Households especially in the urban barangays, use water sealed septic tanks for human waste. I.3b- Flood Control The municipality is a prone flood area because of its land topography that is nearly 80% of its total area is mountainous which is severely denuded of forest cover placing lowland in great danger of flush floods and mudslides. Flooding in the built-up area particularly Brgy. Sto. Niño and Buenavista are attributed to the absence of complete drainage system and silted natural drainage. Flood control measures provided by DPWH are flood protection dikes along major rivers. However, these structures do not stretch much to serve their purpose. I.3c- Waste Management System Sablayan is still practicing the traditional way of garbage disposal wherein solid wastes are being dumped in pits in their respective backyards. In urban areas like Brgy. Buenavista, Sto. Niño and Poblacion, households put their trash in a garbage bag or sack and the garbage truck collector will pick it up, dump it directly to a dumpsite. I.3d- Existing Water Supply Sablayan Water District, a Government Owned and Controlled Corporation is the only agency allowed by law as stated in PD 198, to provide water service in the jurisdiction of Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro. Its water supply is mainly sourced-out from groundwater through deep wells. Currently, it is servicing 7 out of the 22 barangays of Sablayan namely: Buenavista, Sto. Niño, Poblacion, Ligaya, San Vicente, Tuban, and Ibud. Expansion projects are also ongoing in four (4) developing barangays of Sablayan namely: Tagumpay, San Franciso, General Emilio Aguinaldo, and Sta. Lucia. The Sablayan Water District Board of Directors promulgates policies, approves budget and work plans consistent with the guidelines of the Local Water Utilities Administration. To ensure a safe potable water supply, the LWUA closely monitor the operation of Sablayan Water District, review policies, monthly report including the water test laboratory result and assists approved work plans and projects. 6 II. Sablayan Water District Profile II.1- Brief History Sablayan Water District (SWD) was formed on November 17, 1981 by the enactment of Sangguniang Bayan Resolution No. 926, series of 1981. On May 19, 1982, it received the Conditional Certificate of Conformance (CCC No. 197) issued by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) by virtues of Presidential Decree No. 198, otherwise known as the Provincial Water Utilities Act of 1973 as amended by Presidential Decree (PD) Nos. 768 and 1479. Due to financial constraint, Sablayan Water District was non-operational from 1982 to 1989. However, through the loan package granted by the Local Government Unit of Sablayan (LGU) and the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) amounting to Php445,920.00 and Php422,632.60 respectively, it gained an adequate momentum and became operational on January, 1990.