Went to a local mall in Davao and saw that the Davao City Water District (DCWD) had set up a booth in a local SME event to bring forth their side of their opposition on the use of the Tamugan river for a hydro electric power plant by Hedcor Inc.
After talking to their representative I found out that their stance hasn’t changed and they will take nothing less than Hedcor relocating their hydro electric power plant project elsewhere. Although there are cases of hydro electric power projects and water supply projects co-habitating on the same water source, they said that it just isn’t possible with the geography of the Tamugan river and the design plans of Hedcor to divert the water from the river.
The proposed hydropower plant of Hedcor, Inc. at the upper reaches of Tamugan and Panigan rivers will lead to immediate and long-term adverse effects on the Tamugan Surface Water Development (TSWD) project. Since Hedcor’s proposed point of diversion is located upstream of the TSWD, it will dry up vital portions of Tamugan and Talomo Rivers. Its proposed diversion point will likewise be perilously located within the identified recharge areas3 for the Dumoy aquifer4, which is the city’s main source of water supply.
TSWD is the plan of the DCWD to tap the Tamugan river to supply the future water needs of the City of Davao.
I asked them also about the issue wherein they were said to have done nothing to implement their TSWD project and only acted on it now when Hedcor came in with their plans to develop a hydro electric power plant. They said that there was no truth to that statement since they were indeed busy with rehabilitating the area in the form of tree planting and other reforestation projects.
On the question whether there were other areas that could be tapped for surface water for DCWD, they said that Tamugan is the only choice. Based on this power point presentation, we can see the Surface Water Assessment data collected by DCWD on the other possible water sources for their surface water development project and their justification why Tamugan is the only alternative possible.
- Lipadas River - has a superior water quality, however the flow rate is relatively small
- Talomo River - contamination risk is high, reduced quantity due to hydropower plants
- Davao River - highly turbid, operational costs will be very high
- Tagulaya and Sibulan Rivers - rivers outside the boundaries of Davao City
- Tamugan and Panigan River - Large flowrates make these rivers desirable as water source. Water quantity analysis conducted yield satisfactory results
After the nice chat, the friendly DCWD rep pointed me to their website where their stand on the issue is more detailedly presented. Information found there was then used to write up this post.
Category: Hydro, Aboitiz
