{
  "id": 8496365,
  "title": "Water use efficiency worsens in 2025",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/water-use-efficiency-worsens-in-2025",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-19T16:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Philippine Star Business",
    "slug": "philippine-star-business",
    "url": "https://www.philstar.com/business/2026/09/20/2557417/water-use-efficiency-worsens-2025"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In 2025, the Philippines experienced a decline in water use efficiency (WUE), with a notable 4.3 percent drop, according to figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority. The WUE, which gauges the effectiveness of industries in utilizing water resources, decreased to P221.48 per cubic meter of water consumed, a decline from the previous year's P231.42. The service sector displayed the highest WUE, reaching P1,553.61 per cubic meter, while the industry sector's WUE dropped by 33.4 percent to P261.47, down from P392.86 in 2024. This decrease in overall WUE contributed to the overall decline, reported the PSA. Conversely, the agriculture sector maintained the lowest WUE at P16.48 per cubic meter in 2025. The PSA also noted a rise in total freshwater withdrawals to 101.61 billion cubic meters in 2025, up from 93.08 bcm in 2024, alongside a water stress level of 31.1 percent. The PSA emphasized that water stress levels, from 2016 to 2025, consistently remained low, falling within the 25 to 50 percent range set by the Food and Agriculture Organization.",
  "summary": "The country’s overall water use efficiency declined in 2025, representing a 4.3-percent drop, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}