Water Problems

Many residential areas in Boracay these days do not have 24h water supply. Bolabog for example often has only about 8h of water a day, water comes some time in the morning and is being cut off in the afternoon. This is quite annoying but actually just one of the smallest water problems that Boracay has. What is much worse, is the water that leaves the island, the poorly treated sewage that is being pumped into Bolabog lagoon and the spillage of highly polluted ground water into all beaches around the Balabag lowlands.

Yes, that includes our "pristine" White Beach, our main tourist attraction, where we can see the algae bloom in every peak season. The algae is a good indicator for the poor water quality. In the monsoon season (Habagat) the algae is washed away, due to water dilution from the rougher waters. But every high season the algae and its foul smell reappears.

Next to being a serious health hazard, the poor water quality also destroys our coral reefs, which in turn threatens not only the dive shops, but also the beach itself. The reefs protect the sand from being washed away off shore because the reefs break the waves. Also, the white sand actually comes from a species of algae that -in contrast to the blooming algae mentioned above- is very sensitive to water pollution. Without the presence of this algae no new sand is being produced. Together with the increased erosion due to missing reefs our beaches are becoming smaller and smaller. Everybody who has known the island for a long time will be able to testify that White Beach used to be wider than it is today. Right now we can see Diniwid beach disappearing which is among other factors attributed to the missing reef.

Dr. Thomas Goreau, president of the Global Coral Reef Alliance, has studied the state of Boracay's water pollution problem extensively since 1997. In 1997, the development boom had not even really started and Goreau's Report on water quality and coral reef health was already devastating. Goreau's recommendations regarding the sewage treatment plant were ignored with the result that poorly treated water is now being discharged far too close from the shore.

However, Goreau is not giving up and in 2007, ten years after his initial report, he issued another paper in which he gives extensive recommendations to remedy the current situation. We urge you to read this paper because it gives us viable recommendations reaching from proper sewage treatment to coral reef reconstruction and even sources for renewable energy. If you have ever done the drift drive in the channel between Boracay and Panay you know that the current there is enormous, enough to power tidal power plants that would give us an environmentally friendly source of power.