LAST November 18, 2020, the San Pablo City Water District and Dolores Water District jointly issued a notice of award for the development of the Lumbo Spring Bulk Water Supply Project in Dolores, Quezon to the consortium of Udenna Water Integrated Inc., Inclam, S.A., and Optimus Engineering and Construction under a public-private partnership scheme.
The P103-million project will draw for a period of 25 years, 12 million liters of water daily from the Lumbo Spring in Dolores, Quezon, 10 million liters of which will be allocated to households and business establishments in San Pablo City, Laguna. A measly 2 million liters of water shall be for the use of the municipality of Dolores, Quezon.
Advocates fighting for sustainable agriculture said Udenna's Lumbo Spring Bulk Water Supply Project in Dolores, Quezon will cause water supply shortage and endanger the livelihood of farmers in the province.
This is the position taken by the local officials of Dolores and Tiaong municipalities in Quezon, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and opposition Sen. Francis Pangilinan.
An earlier statement from the NIA says:
“There is a clear threat of irrigation water shortage due to the increasing number of water users both for domestic and agricultural use. The proposed project and the continuous decrease of water discharge will jeopardize the government’s thrust toward food security and will decrease farmers’ potential income.”
Several environmental groups in Quezon province and the Mt. Banahaw localities have pressed their opposition to this bulk water project of Davao-based Dennis Uy, who is known to be very close to President Duterte.
Lumbo Spring is exactly the kind of "development" that takes away the resources from the poor areas and divert these to the cities for enjoyment by the rich. No wonder Quezonin activists are ramping up protests.