From groundwater to water consumption: Multidisciplinary Characterization to support sustainable Aquifer exploitation in Coastal metropolitan areas of the Philippines. The CarAqCol project.

General objective

The global objective is to support the development of groundwater-related research and expertise to answer key needs identified on the side of the Cebu water sector through a multi-stakeholder multi-disciplinary scientific knowledge production process about:

• The characteristics of groundwater resources in the Carcar limestone coastal aquifer that are key to support the robust and reliable supply of high-quality water;
• The economics of water consumption and water demand by households and other economic actors in the Metropolitan Cebu area; and
• The forms and the characteristics of water quality expertise and portable sensors that will contribute to support the local sustainable management of water resources.

Summary

In many provinces of the Philippines, water supply does not meet the demand and needs. This issue is particularly prominent in large coastal cities and in the Cebu City Metropolitan Area (Metro Cebu), where the safe supply of drinking water is currently challenging and will become more difficult in the future due to rapid population growth and climate change. Water supply development plans prioritize the use of groundwater due to its accessibility, quantity, and quality.

However, achieving this goal requires the resource to be well-protected and managed. This, in turn, demands a good scientific understanding of the existing aquifers, sustainable exploitation practices, and an accurate projection of the future demand. Unfortunately, the required knowledge is currently incomplete and the scarcity of groundwater experts in the Philippines compounds the situation. Pumping operations are not coordinated between key stakeholders (water providers, consumers, and local authorities), which exacerbates the pressure on the common resource, leading to overexploitation, seawater intrusions and contamination issues.

Against this backdrop, the project’s primary objective is to support the development of groundwater expertise, in a multi-stakeholder approach that relies on hydrogeology and economics, to address key challenges identified in Metro Cebu. The project includes (1) the scientific characterization of groundwater resources in the Carcar limestone coastal aquifer, which is the primary source of high-quality tap water, (2) an analysis of household water demand and related drivers of change, (3) a study of the consequences of groundwater invisibility and the ignorance of water suppliers and local authorities, (4) development of Decision Support System, and (5) the development of science-based routines to reflect on water expertise through multi-stakeholder engagement processes.

The project involves the University of San Carlos, the University of San Carlos – Water Resource Center, UMONS (Hydrogeology), and UCLouvain (Economics of water). The project will also integrate operators and stakeholders, such as the Water Districts of Metro Cebu and Danao City, the Local Government Unit of Danao City, and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, to support data exchanges and dissemination. Two PhD students will lead the project, supported by supervisors, and senior researchers with significant experience in these subjects and fields.

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