BAGUIO CITY – To further address the ever-growing water demand of the Summer Capital, Baguio Water District met with representatives of concerned government offices at the John Hay Management Corporation (JHMC) office on 11 January 2024 regarding the planned adoption of a run-off water harvesting project within the Camp John Hay (CJH) facility.
BWD General Manager Engr. Salvador M. Royeca met with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary for Integrated Environmental Science, Dr. Carlos Primo C. David, John Hay Management Corporation Environment Asset Management Department (JHMC-EAMD) Manager, Engr. Bobby V. Akia and other concerned agencies to discuss the proposed “Surface Run-Off Water Harvesting Technology for Water Supply in Camp John Hay Catchment Areas.”
The proposed development targets the construction of localized green-gray infrastructures intended to collect water run-off from different surfaces and hold it in a centralized catchment area or areas within Camp John Hay, a mixed-used development area serving as a tourist destination and a forest reservation for Baguio City.
This concept, when materialized, could prove helpful in ensuring a reliable and sustainable water source not only for the CJH facility but will also benefit the neighboring communities, especially during the driest months of every year.
Also present during the meeting are officials and representatives from the DENR-Cordillera Administrative Region, and the program proponents – DENR-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB) and the DENR-Watershed and Water Resources Research Development and Extension Center (WWRRDEC). Subsequently, a pitch for the drafting of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to formalize the arrangements of the project was proposed.
Apart from the anticipated adoption of the runoff water collection project, a proposition to tap the expertise of BWD for the possible identification of feasible drilling areas within the Camp was also laid out by USec David.
The meeting concluded with a field inspection and valuation of the proposed facilities where water will pass through going towards the proposed catchment area/s. By BWD PIO
