HE said — SHE said

“It might create some danger or damage, but that is not my concern. My concern is the welfare, the greatest good for the greatest number.

It is without doubt that the social and environmental costs of constructing any new dam will outweigh its benefits to man, but his need would take precedence over all things.

This, in capsule, is the story of the planned Kaliwa Dam, or any other dam constructed around the world.

From Zimbabwe to Russia, China and the Americas, artificial dams meant to store water for their people’s use have displaced communities — not only of humans but other species as well, down to the smallest of insects, and were justified only because they helped sustain new communities which have sprouted along with so-called development.

As it currently experiences a shortage with the summer months still away, Metro Manila is parched and pleading for water to drink and bathe with. Then talks about the construction of the Kaliwa Dam rose again.

President Rodrigo Duterte stopped just a tad of quickly giving the green light to its building. But we all know it would be built. It is just that government and the private companies involved in this future undertaking are waiting for the opposition to its construction to simmer down.

The signs are there and the Chief Executive could not be more explicit when he said on Monday that he is “taking stock of (his) options.”

“Suppression or outright police power… it has to be confiscatory,” the President clearly said.

Aside from the erstwhile reservations aired by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) on the project, opposition to the Kaliwa Dam project had immensely influenced its stalling.

The Kaliwa Dam is not an original Duterte project. It is a spillover from the previous leadership of Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, who in 2013 sat on the proposal on the NEDA’s advice, citing substantial viability challenges.

In six years, however, water rationing has become the norm yet again. The dry season is a scant five months away, yet Metro Manila is again experiencing an immense water shortage just seven months from the last.

The two water concessionaires could only dream about divine intervention in changing their lot. But rain in Luzon comes like a miracle does to the worst of sinners during these months. The drizzles we experience now are nothing but an entertainment from the heavens.

Without rain, one of these concessionaires raised its hands in surrender with one of its spokesmen claiming nothing more could be done.

He passed the burden to the government as expected. They distribute water, they don’t build the sources where water should come from, he said.

Give him a trophy for insensitivity and for services undelivered.

But the message was sent. And on the same day, President Duterte raised his concern on the water shortage and backed the construction of a new dam.

Unlike Noynoy, Mr. Duterte played it aggressively for the Kaliwa Dam.

“You have every right to protest if it really puts your place in jeopardy,” he said. “But if the safeguards are there and between your concerns and the crisis that we are trying to avoid, I will use the extraordinary powers of the presidency.”

That was a tough choice to make, but the Chief Executive is playing his populist ticket to the hilt.

“It might create some danger or damage, but that is not my concern. My concern is the welfare, the greatest good for the greatest number. That is democracy,” he said. Nothing could be clearer than that.

The Kaliwa Dam project, however, saw clearer light earlier. On 23 October, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources gave the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System an environmental compliance certificate.

It’s one of the few papers needed before the first soil is dug.

It will remain a contentious issue for long, and it is doubtful Mr. Duterte would even see its completion while in office.

The future could tell what this new dam would bring its people, including those who, along with the birds, insects and the trees, consider that stretch from Quezon to Rizal their sanctuary.

That is until the population again outgrows its usefulness and raise the need for a new water source.

We always seem to be catching up on ourselves, running against time, trying to stem a flow that might never have happened had we been more vigilant, careful or innovative.

Just months after the water crisis hit Metro Manila, we are back with that feeling of panic flowing out of our chest because, you know — water is life!

Having no running water even at certain hours of the day affects many citizens and businesses, but it now seems clear it will be a way of life for us for some time.

Before we go ranting at either government or the water concessionaires, and maybe even past leaders and ways of doing things, we should try to catch as much of the issue as we can so we can do our part wholeheartedly.

First, we must accept that there is a water shortage — our existing dams simply don’t have enough to sustain supply at the rate we have been using our water supply.

Recent reports reveal that “only 10 percent of the 300 millimeters of rain forecasted for the month of October came in” and this has continued the “lowering trend of the water level of not just in Angat Dam but also in other dams.”

This is why we must understand the second part: why Maynilad Water Services Inc. and Manila Water Company scheduled water interruptions. According to the Manila Water, it is “necessary to ensure raw water supply will last through and beyond the summer of 2020.”

Conservation is the reason, and not some dastardly plan to make our lives more miserable over and above the erratic traffic and sometimes power interruptions in some parts of the metro.

The prospect of having no water even for a few hours puts many of us in a panic, but it is a measure that water companies see is necessary so that we don’t run dry even as other long-term solutions are undertaken.

Unfortunately, the biggest project that hopes to address the supply issue is turning out to be quite problematic.

Following the announcement of the water interruptions, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources issued the Kaliwa Dam project with an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), causing a deluge of opposition for a number of reasons.

One is from the Agta-Dumagat-Remontado tribes in Quezon and Rizal who are threatened with displacement.

Another complication is the “alleged violations in procedural requirements for ECC application both by its project proponent, the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, and the Environmental Management Bureau,” an online report says.

A third impediment is the fear that the Kaliwa Dam is really more of a China project than our own, giving way to more nervousness about sovereignty as the West Philippine Sea issue continues to simmer in the background.

These are road blocks for the water supply issue that seems eerily similar to the road right of way issue that is currently plaguing the government’s “Build, Build, Build” goals.

After the March water crisis that caused an uproar and a half, Filipinos are wary about any mention of “no water” even for just a few hours.

Yet like the traffic problem that we continue to believe will someday improve — just be extra patient and forgiving through the massive construction projects going on — the water supply issue must be approached with similar prudence and optimism.

We must all do our part to achieve our end goals. As consumers, it is our responsibility to practice conservation — store just enough for your needs, reuse if possible for other household chores.

It is the least we can do — after all, it may feel like we have to endure one inconvenience after another, but we know that as construction booms and the problem with water supply is being addressed, something at last is being done.