MCWD: More water for northern Cebu

CEBU, Philippines —  The Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) has pledged to provide additional volume of water for its northern Cebu service areas.

In a report posted by the MCWD board, it noted that the Manila Water Philippine Ventures Inc. (MWPVI) will supply an additional volume of up to 7,000 cubic meters to MCWD on top of the 35,000 cubic meters of water daily that it is now being supplied to the water district.

The delivery of more water supply has been promised within the month for the municipalities of Liloan and Consolacion, as well as for barangays Umapad, Alang-Alang, Looc, Tabok, Cambaro, Paknaan, and Pagsabungan in Mandaue City; and Pusok and the Mactan Export Zone in Lapu-Lapu City.

According to MCWD, the water source in Carmen remains stable despite the El Niño phenomenon that the country is now facing.

Last April 22, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia met with MCWD board chairman Jose Daluz and General Manager Edgar Donoso, who have been suspended by the Local Water Utilities Administration, along with the General Manager of MWPVI Stan Genosa.

In the said meeting, Garcia assured to find ways to maximize the water production in the facility in Carmen, and one of these is the lifting of the order closing the two deep wells in the area.

A cease-and-desist order will also be served to two mountain resorts in Carmen for various violations of environmental laws.

According to the Provincial government’s news network, Sugbo News, the two resorts are the Durano Eco Farm and Spring Resort and Middle Earth Mountain resort.

The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)-Central Visayas has found these two resorts to have built concrete structures within the mandatory 20-meter easement zone of Luyang River.

Garcia ordered that the structures, especially the pools, be demolished to allow the water to flow freely and help maximize the water production of Luyang River.

Daluz welcomed the Governor’s move as MCWD now needs all the additional supply it can get considering the drastic drop in the production of surface water sources.

Other surface water sources of MCWD, like the river in Compostela, the Jaclupan facility, Buhisan Dam, and Lusaran bulk water supply have been severely affected by the dry spell, and their production has significantly decreased, affecting thousands of households.

MCWD stressed that the efforts of the Governor is a “testament to the commitment of the Garcia administration to improving Cebuano's access to potable water, as she recognizes that the constituents of the province are the ones affected by this water crisis”.

Aside from the mentioned LGUs, other service areas of MCWD are the cities of Cebu and Talisay, and Cordova.

Meanwhile, MCWD also said it is on the right track with its promotion of desalination projects in Cebu.

The MCWD-Daluz wing stressed that desalination projects “will produce abundant supply of much cheaper potable water than the potable water sold by Water Refilling Stations at 1,000/ m3. A 20 Liter container is being sold at Twenty Pesos or P20/container.”

This is equivalent to a peso per liter with one cubic meter (m3) containing 1,000 liters.

At present, the ground water source within Metro Cebu has already deteriorated, MCWD reported, and is heavily contaminated.

MCWD noted that the most viable technology that will guarantee the production of safe drinking water in Metro Cebu is through desalination technology.

The Desal Project of MCWD will protect its consumers from spending huge amount of money. (CEBU NEWS)