The battle for use or joint use of the Tamugan river is getting preposterous as Davao City columnist Jun Ledesma points out. In the case of the Davao City Water Districts (DCWD) tactics that is
In the case of DCWD, they spent a lot on radio propaganda and wooed some members of the City Councils hounding them with doomsday scenario that if Hedcor will go ahead with their plan to establish a hydroelectric plant in Tamugan we will soon be drinking salty water….Their claim is that the proposed Hedcor’s hydroelectric plant will result in the depletion of water in Davao City’s aquifers. This argument sounds silly and just utterly baseless and therefore will not hold water, the pun intended.
DCWD is trying to impress to us that Hedcor’s turbine will use up (as in consume) Tamugan ambient water. In this scenario the possibility of underground water getting depleted maybe possible. The moment the volume of underground water that goes to the aquifers is reduced, seawater will sip in ergo the salinity. The fact is not a drop of Tamugan River water will be consumed by the turbine. Water will flow through to rotate it and then goes back to the riverbed.
The battle for the use of the Tamugan river has been long and overly drawn out already. In a nutshell, The Aboitiz Group’s Hedcor subsidiary wants to put up a hydro electric plant in the area. DCWD claims prior rights as they were granted permission over ten years ago to develop the river to supply water to the city but up till now failed to act on it. Hedcor calls for joint use, DCWD says no and wants sole use of the river. Local government officials mediate but DCWD stubbornly stands pat on their position. Mayor gets fed up and asks for the courts to settle this.
[source]
Category: Hydro, Aboitiz
