Saturday, May 31, 2008 Water district upgrades lab for water analysis
ANGELES CITY -- The Angeles City Water District (ACWD) is presently upgrading its laboratory facilities in a bid to improve the quality of water it supplies to the concessionaires.
ACWD general manager Romeo Calara said the district has spent almost P4 million on the upgrade of its laboratory for water analysis.
Calara added that for bacteriological analysis, ACWD is conducting a total coliform and fecal coliform test using the Multiple Rube Fermentation Test (MTFT) and Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC) in a Pour Plate Method.
Heterotrophic Plate Count describes a board group of bacteria that include pathogens, non-pathogens and opportunistic microorganisms. It can be used to indicate general biological condition of drinking water.
According to Calara, the district can now analyze 30 parameters including some heavy metals found to be toxic in nature. With its new acquired Atom Absorption Spectrometer (AAS), ACWD can analyze lead, arsenic, cadmium, chromium and mercury.
The upgrading of the ACWD's lab is in compliance with the new standards set by the Revised Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water 2007 (PNSDW '07) under the Department of Health (DOH) Administrative Order 2007-0012 dated March 9, 2007 and the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) Memorandum Circular 002-08 dated March 5, 2008, Calara said.
Safe water supply prevents transmission of waterborne pathogens and reduces the exposure of individuals to chemical and physical hazards that could be ingested through contaminated drinking water.
Continuous development of policies and programs geared toward minimizing the risk of contracting waterborne diseases should be sustained and implemented by concerned authorities, particularly the health department.
