City, water firm build new water system

THE P64.8-million water system in the village of Baluno is expected to supply four million liters of safe and cheap potable water daily to about 40,000 people in at least eight villages in Zamboanga City’s west coast.

Mayor Celso Lobregat said the water system project known as Baluno water system is just one of the biggest among the 13 joint projects of the City Government under his administration and the Zamboanga City Water District (ZCWD).

Lobregat said the system will tap water from a spring in Sitio Dumalon, Baluno, which is about 800 meters above sea level, and impound it in a concrete dam, from where potable water will be distributed down to the service areas, covering the villages of Baluno, Capisan, Malagutay, San Roque, Calarian, Cawit, Sinunuc and Maasin, all in the west coast, with combined households of 7,423 or about 37,000 to 40,000 people.

Baluno is an upland interior village located 28 kilometers west of the city.

The Baluno water system costs P64,861,077, of which the City Government shared P33,744,412 for the purchase of water pipes measuring 54 kilometers-long (or 54,000 meters-long) to bring the potable water from the spring in Sitio Dumalon, Baluno down to the nearby eight villages.

The ZCWD, on the other hand, shared P31,116,665 for civil works and other project components to include the construction of the intake facility and the ground tank or impounding dam.

It will also give livelihood to the people in the service villages as they will be hired for the project.