Water crisis teaches Metro residents the value of every drop
Housewife Eva Reyes, 45, considers last week as one of the worst weeks of her life. It all started one Friday in mid-July, when the water coming from her tap started slowing to a trickle. The following day, not a single drop of water was coming out of her faucet. Thirsty and without taking a bath, she fell in line at a nearby deep well owned by her neighbor to buy water. With just her pails and a lot of patience, she went there in the morning and got her turn to fetch water late in the afternoon. "Ang dami kasing nawalan ng tubig kaya ang daming nakapila. 'Yung iba nga, may mga dala nang sasakyan tapos doon nilalagay âyung drum ng tubig," she said, referring to the thousands of residents in Barangay Batasan Hills in Quezon City who endured long queues just to get the precious resource. Eva finally managed to take a sponge bath later in the day, but it did little to relieve the irritation she felt due to the water cutoff, which would last for a week. "Ang hirap-hirap talaga kumilos. Kung may pupuntahan ka, makikipag-unahan ka pa para magamit âyung kakaunting tubig na meron ka," she recalled. "Twenty years na akong nakatira rito, pero ngayon ko lang naranasan mawalan ng tubig ng isang linggo. Nakakainis talaga noong simula. Hindi man lang kami naabisuhan," she told GMANews.TV in an interview last Saturday.
"Wala na ngang tubig kaya hindi nakakaligo. Syempre, mainit 'yun sa katawan. Tapos puyat pa kaya maiinit din ang mga ulo. Nagkakasingitan pa. Mag-aaway talaga 'yang mga 'yan," he said. The water riots had nearly forced the government to send troops to maintain peace and order in water rationing areas. Water supply has since improved in Barangay Batasan Hills and 343 other barangays affected by the disruptions, but Marlon said the crisis left him a lesson he had never given a thought in previous years. "Tipid-tipid na talaga dapat sa tubig. Iba na ang panahon ngayon. 'Yung akala mong tubig na marami sa paligid mo, nagkakaubusan na pala," he said. Every drop counts Desk officer Oscar Bautista, 42, of Barangay Batasan Hills also learned something positive out of the crisis their area experienced in the past week. "Ang hirap talaga ng walang tubig. Mawalan ka na ng kuryente, 'wag lang mawalan ng tubig. Dapat talaga nagtitipid na tayo, lalo na ngayong problema ang mahabang tag-araw," he said. To save water, Oscar now makes sure that all taps and hoses at the barangay hall are properly closed to prevent unnecessary spills. Marlon, meanwhile, said his family has taken to reusing bath water for other purposes. "Tuwing naliligo, naglalagay na kami ng palanggana para doon naiipon 'yung may sabon na tubig na gagamitin para pang-flush o kaya panlinis ng kubeta," he shared. Eva, for her part, said she does not let water flow freely whenever she washes the dishes these days. "Hindi na puwede 'yung tulo lang nang tulo 'yung tubig kapag naghuhugas ng pinggan. Iniipon na lang muna sa palanggana para walang maaksaya," she said. Her family has also been collecting rainwater in drum containers to make sure they have a ready supply. "Panlinis din kasi 'yun o kaya pandilig ng halaman," she says. Eva has promised herself that after the inconvenience of having no water for seven straight days, she would not allow shortages to happen again. "Hindi na dapat maulit ito. Kung dati kaya mong umubos ng dalawang timba ng tubig, ngayon dapat isa na lang. Hihintayin pa ba nating mawalan na lang ulit ng tubig para tayo matuto?" she said. â YA, GMANews.TV