Manila: The city government is continuously looking for funds to finance the construction of huge rainwater-harvesting facilities, seen as one of the solutions to address rising demand. Mayor Benjamin Magalong said Monday that the city hopes to receive assistance from the Office of the President, while completing the technical plan. The bidding is set in August. "We had just talked to Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, and we hope to receive PHP90 million for the rainwater-harvesting facility that will be put up," he said. This is the fourth water-harvesting facility to be established following the 6,000-cubic-meter facility at the Buyog watershed. "Water is now number one in our priorities," Magalong said.

According to Philippines News Agency, data from the Baguio Water District (BWD) show an average daily demand of 60,000 cubic meters against a supply of 56,000 cubic meters. The high demand requires water rationing in several villages to ensure enough supply for all residents. "We are still dependent on our deep wells. We will be closing many deep wells that are illegally operating, but we will negotiate it with other legal deep wells and maybe just give a royalty," Magalong said. A task force was formed in 2024 following the diarrhea outbreak, where it was found that contaminated water from a tanker downed scores of people during the holidays in 2023. "We are waiting for the authority from the NWRB (National Water Resource Board) so that we can act and close the operation of the illegal deep wells," the mayor said.

An inventory conducted by the task force showed 1,187 deep wells, but only 280 operate legally. "Ganyan katindi ang problema ng Baguio (That is how big the problem of Baguio is)," Magalong said. The task force, he said, is crafting a memorandum of agreement for the BWD to oversee operations of deep wells up for closure. Meanwhile, rainwater-harvesting at the Busol watershed began operations in 2024. It is currently being filled to augment the resource during the height of the El Ni±o. The city's first rainwater-harvesting dam at Mount Santo Tomas is also being filled. Another facility in Barangay Kias is funded through a grant from Canada. The BWD has repeatedly urged residents to use water responsibly and recycle it for other uses.