Ilocos Norte builds long-term comprehensive water management plan

By Leilanie G. Adriano

Staff reporter

Laoag City—Embarking on a long-term comprehensive water management plan (CWMP), Ilocos Norte is gearing up to address its water shortage in the next three years.

Following a series of consultations and field visits, Ilocos Norte Water District general manager John Teodoro said a draft of the salient features of the CWMP has already been submitted to Ilocos Norte Governor Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos for review.

The Ilocos Norte comprehensive water plan covers wise utilization of water for domestic and agriculture including power generation if possible.

Mr. Teodoro said a huge portion of the project accounts for the province’s massive reforestation project which aims that by 2017, there shall be no barren public land without trees, at least in the 21 towns and two cities of Ilocos Norte.

Starting from the highlands of Nueva Era all the way to Adams town, Mr. Teodoro said the massive tree planting activities also spread down to the lowlands including Vintar, Bacarra and Paoay lake.

“As of this time, I am not yet privy to report all the details as this is still a draft but we are maintaining a workforce exclusively to maintain about 2,065 hectares as part of our re-greening project,” he said.

Since January last year, the Ilocos Norte government has revived an integrated plan to work out more funds to support water management which has been laid down since the time of then President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Aside from creating jobs for the marginalized sector, the Ilocos Norte government has contracted around 326 Barangay Ranger Officers (BROs), deployed in critical watersheds and denuded forest to plant more trees and at the same time guard the mountains from illegal cutting of trees and discourage traditional practice of slash-and-burn farming or the so-called kaingin system.

The governor has reiterated that water management on paper is useless if it does not have the financial backing to fully implement it.