A WATER DEPARTMENT, ANYONE?

It’s in the news that the House of Representatives has already passed their version of the proposed Department of Water Resources (DWR), and it is now up to the Senate to pass their own version. I have mixed feelings about this proposal because it could either have a good or bad outcome, and let me tell you why. On the good side, having a DWR could give us the opportunity to once and for all integrate and coordinate all of our water needs, among them for irrigation, manufacturing and for household or residential use. However, on the bad side, it could add another layer of bureaucracy that could either slow down the whole process, or result in a tangled web. I think the idea about creating a DWR is to put all water related agencies and functions under one department, so that they could all “play music” together under one “conductor”. While that is truly a desirable outcome, it would sound more realistic if the agencies and functions are already talking to each other now, but it seems that they are not. Just to cite some examples, the government has not been too successful in laws pertaining to rainwater collection, water impounding ponds and river cleanups. Simply put, there could be lesser flood water if rainwater is collected properly, and flood water could easily flow into the water impounding pounds. And of course, the cleaner the river, the cleaner the water there would be to filter. IKE SENERES/01-05-2024