WATER SANITATION and SEWERAGE SYSTEMS
OFTEN OVERLOOKED - ANGARA

Alarmed with recent events brought by typhoon Ondoy Senator Edgardo J. Angara renews his call for an effective water management.

"Climate change, urbanization and the need to feed a growing population have placed a heavy strain on our finite water resources, and there is an urgent need to address the dangers they pose to the health of our people and the sustainability of our development. More often than not, water sanitation and sewerage systems in the country is overlooked and neglected," said Angara who chairs the Senate Committee on Finance.

He added, "The acute seasonal problem of lack of access to potable water has large economic costs, as well as profound impact on the quality of life. Poor water quality affects our citizens' health, lost agricultural production, threatens food security, and a host of other damaging consequences."

Alarmed with recent incidents there is also an increasing number of poor Filipino families that are affected by diseases caused by water pollution and poor sanitation especially after typhoons. Moreover, People in the slums of developing countries typically pay five to 10 times more per unit of water than do people with access to piped water. Of the 2.6 billion people worldwide who do not have access to clean water, more than half live on less than $2 a day.

Faced with this alarming situation, Angara now calls for more effective water sanitation and sewerage system by intensifying efforts and bringing the task of managing water resources and regulating water use down to the provincial, city, town and barangay levels.

"Technology has solved the problem of having to choose between economic development, on the one hand, and environmental sustainability, on the other. The obstacle now lies in a more fundamental level, and that is in mustering the political will to invest and implement it." Angara said.