Deepwell drilling stopped

The City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) issued a stoppage order to a private resident conducting drilling of a deepwell in one barangay in the city.

In a report to Mayor Benjamin Magalong, Engr. Sofronio Pascua of the CEPMO said the owner was advised to secure the necessary permit before proceeding with the drilling.

Pascua said they will continue monitoring the site and others of similar situations.

Asst. CEPMO Head Marivic Empizo said illegal deepwell drilling is punishable under the city’s Environment Code with a maximum fine of P5,000 after court procedure.

She said there is an ongoing inventory of deepwells in the city by a committee headed by the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) water utilization section under the National Water Resources Board with the CEPMO.

“If there are drilling activities reported, these are ordered to stop, then monitored by barangay officials to get water drilling permits,” Empizo said.

The city government and the BWD under General Manager Salvador Royeca had requested the NWRB to address the proliferation of illegal deepwells in the city being one of the identified causes of the declining yield of the city’s water sources as these deplete the recharge areas of the city’s underground water sources resulting to the decline in pumping water levels.

In 2021, the city listed a total of 210 permitted water companies drawing from the city’s underground aquifers while the number of those that do not have permit was still not determined. – Aileen P. Refuerzo