INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Water is a limited and essential feature that is necessary for life, development, and the
environment. It should be managed for the benefit of all. Water resource governance should have been
transparent and sociologically accountable, with management decentralized to the greatest extent
possible. Hence, water is a human right, and the government is responsible for upholding, protecting, and
fulfilling that right. Water supply projects should include capacity building components at all levels,
including knowledge management that encourages all stakeholders to learn.

Many people have compared the issue of water scarcity to the current state of the economy. The
global scarcity of usable water is a serious issue that threatens our future. Ironically, only a small
percentage of our planet's water is actually usable. Ninety-seven percent of the world's water is too salty
for human consumption or agricultural use. Furthermore, many water scarcity issues cross borders
because countries share transboundary water sources. Such basins require international cooperation to
alleviate water scarcity and create opportunity. 

According to Cavite Integrated Water Resource Master Plan, The province of Cavite recognizes
the need for an updated, integrated, and comprehensive water management plan in view of the rapid
growth in population, increased economic activity, decreasing groundwater levels resulting in
groundwater mining, salt-water intrusion in coastal areas, pollution in rivers, and competition over water
rights. Cavite‘s Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan (PDPFP) 2008- 2013 identified
the annual depletion of ground water and the pollution of major rivers as among the issues concerning
water supply sources. The Cavite Integrated Water Resources Management Master Plan aims to update
the findings of the past studies of JICA (1995) and SWECO (2004), among other studies, which focused
on ground water source development for selected areas in Cavite.

Water resource distribution is critical for meeting fundamental human needs while maintaining
economic efficiency and equality, and allocations should be based on the resource base's sustainability.
The strategic task is to ensure the water resource's long-term viability in the face of the aforementioned
stressors. The overall goal of this study is to produce a set of baseline statistics and information on
household water use in Upland Cavite, as well as to identify the factors that influence it. This can be
utilized as a basis for making informed decisions and planning for the development of sustainable water
resources in Cavite, particularly in the study areas.

Usage of GW in Cavite

 To construct a comprehensive water resources development and management strategy for the
most efficient use of water resources in the study area for water supply projects.
 To prepare a shopping list of potential programs and projects that will serve as the
development and management blueprint for the province's water supply across the short,
medium, and long term planning horizons.
 To determine existing and projected water supply demand for domestic, such as residential,
commercial, institutional, and small-scale industry, irrigation, fisheries, livestock, industrial,
and recreational uses.
 To demonstrate descriptions of the important agencies' organizational structure, functions,
and activities in the water resource area.
 To present descriptions of the organizational structure, functions, and activities of the key
agencies at water resource level area.

State of GW in Cavite

The following are the findings of an assessment of the current state of ground water in the
province of Cavite:

 The current water supply and distribution infrastructure in Cavite Province are no longer capable
of meeting current and future water demand.
 Water supply planning, development, and provision are unrelated to sanitary infrastructure,
particularly sewerage and septage systems.
 Water abstraction has indeed reached critical levels in a number of regions around the province,
resulting in lower groundwater levels, groundwater mining, and saltwater intrusion in coastal
areas.
 Established regulatory and institutional frameworks, both at the national and provincial/local
levels, appear to be frail and fragmented.
  There tends to be a gap of a comprehensive financing structure for the water sector that may
streamline finance to make the most use of limited public money while also encouraging
concessional financing and private sector investments.

DISCUSSION

Threats to GW in Cavite

The study contained the following upland municipalities in Cavite: Indang, Amadeo, General
Emilio Aguinaldo, Alfonso, Ternate, Maragondon, Magallanes, Tagaytay City, Mendez, and Silang.
Amadeo belongs to the sixth district while the rest of the municipalities belong to the 7th district. A
protocol and visual survey of the upland municipalities included in the suit was conducted as part of the
pre-survey.

In anticipation for the serious water supply problem, Cavite Province conducted a comprehensive
study on water resources management in 2012 which led to the development of the Cavite Integrated
Water Resources Management Master Plan (CIWRMMP). The strategy intends to close the growing
demand and supply gap for groundwater, as well as the province's infrastructure backlog and
unreasonable water resource allocation. The strategy also identifies measures to close the demand-supply
gap by utilizing wells, large rivers, and a few tributaries. This summit sought to educate all stakeholders
about Cavite's present water supply and how to adapt it to the growing demand for water. This also aims
to encourage integrated water resource management in order to ensure long-term and short-term water
supply sustainability. While Cavite has abundant freshwater sources in the uplands and may have just
enough water for its households at the moment, water availability is threatened by climate change,
pollution, and poor management as well as rapid urbanization in the uplands, particularly in Tagaytay
City. Due to rising demand for residential, agricultural, industrial, and recreational purposes, the province
is expected to experience issues in securing freshwater resources in the near future. For efficient and
effective water system management, a greater understanding of household water use in these areas is
essential. Due to rising demand for residential, agricultural, industrial, and recreational purposes, the
province is expected to experience issues in securing freshwater resources in the near future. For efficient
and effective water system management, a greater understanding of household water use in these areas is
essential.

As per the findings, strong collaborations between disciplines such as environmental science,
ecology, engineering, and economics, as well as emerging areas such as climate change, natural resource
economics, education, and human dimensions of decision making, are required for water sustainability
research. Therefore, better data gathering is required for enhanced forecasting and water resource
operations. To develop more efficient water usage and optimize the economic return for the water used, a
study of the factors of water use in the agricultural, domestic, commercial, public, and industrial sectors
can be conducted.

RECOMMENDATION

The provincial government of Cavite made a number of recommendations to ensure the long-term
viability of its water resources, including land use planning to protect groundwater recharge areas,
groundwater monitoring, improved water governance at the provincial and municipal levels, and the use
of rainwater harvesting technologies.

The following recommendations are made:

 Development of additional water supply sources based on a viable provincial land use plan,
including importation of water from neighboring provinces, to satisfy rising demand that are
sustainable, stable, and appropriate, and that provide equitable and affordable water supply for all
end users.
 Encourage relevant service providers to participate in plan formulation, programming, and
operations, among other things, to increase the coverage, efficiency, and long-term viability of
linked infrastructures.
 Codification of legislation/ordinance to provide finance innovations for sewerage as well as
septage system projects that would link these services to revenue-generating water service
provision in order to enable investment cost recovery.
 Development of a comprehensive and effective monitoring system to examine and address the
long-term viability of created infrastructure.
 Implementation of an environmental user charge, which will be determined on the cost of
replenishing and rehabilitating the afflicted water bodies and will be imposed disproportionately
on those who do not have water rights.
 Institutional and regulatory concerns linked to the integrated management and development of the
province's water resources should be addressed through the introduction and/or passage of
suitable legal instruments.
 Encouragement of rural growth to reduce rural-urban migration, which has resulted in increased
demands on ecosystems and water bodies, as well as unsustainable land use practices in cities.
  Promotion of environmental education, particularly in the area of water resource management, to
help people to appreciate and understand the complexity of the environment, as well as their roles
and responsibilities in ensuring that water resources are managed sustainably.
 Groundwater control shall be tightened to guarantee that surface and ground water supply sources
are sustainably developed, managed and utilized.

CONCLUSION

This study on the experiences of upland communities involved in termination of Groundwater in

Cavite find their water supply to be plentiful and safe, as they have not yet encountered any problems
with water access, even during the dry season. The majority were pleased with the water districts'
services, while just a handful were dissatisfied with water management owing to irregular water supply
and poor water quality. However, water has been available at all times of the day. Those who find their
water unfit to drink or potable purchase filtered water from water stations, explaining the spread of
"drinking water stations" across the neighborhood.

In addition, water supply is still adequate in Upland Cavite, but not in the Municipality of Indang
due to challenges with water extraction in the major river source in Barangay Kayquit. The individual
water districts indicated that extracting water is becoming more difficult, but that they can still meet the
homes' water needs. Hece, household size has a favorable impact on water consumption, a rise in the
upland population will have a significant impact on water supply sustainability. Because groundwater
levels are already critical, groundwater extraction is now absolutely restricted not only in other parts of
the country but also in Cavite.

As a result, Rapid population expansion and the depletion of natural resources are causing a
future water catastrophe Thus, the local government should engage in vigorous community education and
initiatives to raise public awareness of Cavite's serious water supply crisis in the near future. This can be
supplemented by tree-planting operations to ensure the province's water supply remains secure. The
Provincial Government of Cavite should continue to demonstrate its commitment to an integrated strategy
to sustainable development and water point protection throughout Cavite, particularly in upland areas. As
a result, diverse sectoral strategies and programs on water sustainability must be assessed at the municipal
level in order to facilitate coordination and management measures.
 REFRENCES

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sciences/water-scarcity
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