Water Firm Plants 4,000 Trees to Restore Springs in Angeles

When underground water sources started drying up in Angeles City, Philippines, one woman decided to plant a forest instead of drilling deeper wells.

Criselle Panlilio-Alejandro runs Balibago Waterworks, a company that provides drinking water to local families. She noticed that without trees on the hillsides, rainwater simply ran off into rivers instead of soaking into the ground to refill the natural springs below.

Her solution? Plant 10,000 trees in the Sapangbato watershed over five years.

So far, her team has planted 4,000 seedlings, including bamboo and fruit-bearing trees. About 70 percent have survived and are growing, even through typhoons and drought conditions.

The company employs members of the indigenous Aeta community to care for the young forest. These local stewards water, fertilize, and protect the seedlings, especially during the dry season, receiving food subsidies in return.

The science behind the effort is simple but powerful. Trees act like sponges in the landscape, slowing rainwater and giving it time to seep deep underground instead of evaporating or washing away.

The Ripple Effect

The project faced real challenges along the way. Typhoons knocked out entire planting seasons. Ancestral land concerns caused a one-year delay. The steep, 10-hectare site makes hauling water uphill exhausting work.

But Alejandro and her team kept planting. They partnered with the Abacan River and Angeles Watershed Advocacy Council to share resources and expertise.

The initiative also highlights an often-overlooked reality in water management. Women frequently bear the burden when water runs short, making extra trips to fetch it or rationing carefully for cooking and cleaning.

At Balibago Waterworks, women hold four of nine board seats and make up 40 percent of the entire staff, including engineers. They're not just managing water systems but actively protecting the natural sources that make those systems possible.

As underground aquifers face depletion across Central Luzon and beyond, this tree-planting approach offers a blueprint others can follow. The project proves that restoring nature doesn't require massive budgets or complicated technology, just commitment and community partnership.

By 2027, when all 10,000 trees are planted, the young forest will be capturing millions of gallons of rainwater each year and guiding it underground to refill the springs that keep taps flowing.