Bulacan provincial board tackles deal with MWSS

HAGONOY, Bulacan – The Bulacan Provincial Board is in a quandary to finalize possible agreement with Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) conces­sionaire for the P11-billion Bulacan Bulk Water Project as the Dec. 16 deadline nears.

Board Member Christian Natividad, the chairman of Transport, Communication and Public Utilities in the Sangguniang Panglalawigan told The STAR that they are conducting consultative meetings to iron out an agreement. He said Manila Water Services Inc., (MWSI) expressed willingness to finance the P11-billion Bulacan Bulk Water Project that will initially supply potable water to 10 Bulacan dry towns through local water districts.

“The project involves a water treatment facility that will be established in Sta. Maria town,” Natividad said and hinted that studies showed the province’s 21 towns and three component cities will face groundwater crisis in the next five years.

Based on documents obtained by The STAR, only about 50 to 60 percent of the province’s three million residents are recipients of potable piped water services.

Natividad said that Bula­kenyos are exposed to a number of naturally occurring diseases due to untreated drinking water.

“The Bulacan Bulk Water project seeks to address that and at the same time save our ground water that has been critical for years due to over extraction of water as the growing population demand increase,” he said.

A scion of a leading Bulakenyo political leader, the late Rep. Teodulo Natividad, the young Natividad said they are now finalizing a possible agreement with MWSI and MWSS and the former have to have their rate rebasing approved on Dec. 16.