ILOILO City and six other municipalities will be waterless for three days starting Friday, January 9, due to rehabilitation efforts to be conducted by the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD).

Jerry Guillergan, MIWD in-charge of construction and maintenance, said they are now completing the cleanup of debris and mud caused by Typhoon Frank that settled at sedimentation ponds in Buntulan, Maasin, and filtration ponds in Sta. Barbara, Iloilo.

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The water district is spending more than P25 million in the rehabilitation and reconstruction projects in both of its sedimentary and treatment plants. It has also bid out the clean-up projects to four contractors in the past six months.

City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said MIWD assured him the cleanup in the two reservoir ponds in Sta. Barbara will be completed by January 12. However, the water district is eyeing the by-pass project of bringing raw water from the Maasin sedimentation plant to the treatment plant in Sta. Barbara without passing the reservoir ponds anymore.

The treated water will then go on to MIWD pipes for the consumption of water consumers in the city and municipalities of Pavia, Sta. Barbara, Cabatuan, Maasin, Leganes and Oton.

One of the four Sta. Barbara treatment ponds processes more than 20,000 cubic meters per day for more than 30,000 registered consumers in the area MIWD covers.

The shortage is primarily caused by clogged water pipes and sedimentation ponds at the water source in Maasin, Iloilo, some 40 kilometers from the city proper.

Heavy siltation at the Sta. Barbara filtration plant also caused the shortage.

Treñas said heavy siltation caused by Typhoon Frank last June 21-22, 2008 primarily aggravated the situation that caused acute water shortage in the city and some municipalities served by MIWD.

Treñas said MIWD officials assured him the water supply will be restored within the month or just before the Dinagyang Festival, slated on the fourth week of January.

The city is now preparing for the Dinagyang Festival. The Iloilo Hotels Restaurants and Resorts Association (IHHRA) expressed fears on water shortage and urged the water district to complete its rehabilitation before the festivities so as to encourage more tourists to visit.