Commentary
Important Points About the Nabaoy Watershed and Why It Must Be Protected
By: Raymond Sucgang
Nabaoy does NOT store water through primary porosity.
It is not made of limestone, which is naturally porous.
Instead, it is composed of solid rocks like chert and sandstoneโmaterials that cannot hold water in their natural state.
Water is stored and released through fractures.
The only reason Nabaoy provides a steady baseflow of water all year round, even in summer, is due to fractures or cracks in the rocks (called secondary porosity).
These fractures act like underground โreservoirsโ that slowly release stored rainwater.
The average age of the water in Nabaoy is 15 years.
This means the water you see flowing today was rainwater from 15 years ago.
It is a long-term storage system that slowly releases water over time.
If we alter the geology, we risk destroying this system.
Installing hydropower turbines or windmills could disturb or fracture the rock system further.
It could also lead to deforestation, which reduces natural filtration and rain absorption.
These disturbances would alter the baseflow and reduce water availability.
Erosion and siltation will follow.
Tree cutting and construction will cause erosion, which leads to silt buildup in the river.
This affects water quality and increases the cost of treatment for Boracay Water.
Consumers will bear the cost.
If purification becomes more difficult and expensive, the cost of clean water will increase, and this added burden will be passed on to the consumersโincluding the local population and Boracayโs tourism sector.
