Councilors push rainwater harvesting for all

SANA ALL.

This will be the battlecry of the Rainwater Harvesting Ordinance (RWHO) proposed by Councilor Ely Estante Jr. and co-authored by Councilor Love Baronda.

With a provision imposing the installation of rainwater harvesting facility on houses and structures standing on lot areas as small as 25 square meters, the ordinance looks to cover every residential house as well as commercial building and public structure in the city.

For commercial buildings, the minimum is set at 100 square meters.

City Environment and Natural Resources Officer Noel Hechanova, who pushed for the said provision, stressed that everybody must be made to participate in this activity to underscore the importance of rainwater harvesting, especially for Iloilo City which suffers from a shortage of potable water and is prone to flooding during rainy season.

Estante, as chairman of the City Council Committee on Environment, is pushing hard for the passage of the RWHO before the end of this year.

In fact, after the second consultative conference which the Environment Committee conducted at the Lapaz Plaza Lagoon, Estante expressed confidence that he could submit the draft ordinance for final approval by the city council “within the next 30 to 60 days.”

“This ordinance is declaration of principle that we are serious in our effort to conserve water and protect the environment,” Estante said. “The rest of the nitty-gritty stuff in terms of what kind of rainwater harvesting facility or system that should be put up – whether it is a mere pail or plastic tub or concrete cisterns or detention ponds, should be  discussed in more detail in the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Ordinance.

The RWHO will be put in effect immediately on construction of new houses and buildings. However, for old structures especially residences, a time frame of say three-five years for compliance will be imposed under the IRR.

The RWHO provides for the creation of a technical working group consisting of experts in the field and other sectoral representatives – which will be tasked to come up with an IRR within 180 days of the passage of the RWH Ordinance.