THE Davao City Water District (DCWD) assured the public that necessary steps are being undertaken to keep the potability of the water in the Panigan-Tamugan River.

This came on the heels of an earlier announcement by the Interface Development Intervention for Sustainability (Idis) on the reclassification of the Panigan-Tamugan’s water quality from Class AA to Class A.

In a text message, DCWD said the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) confirmed the classification of the river water.

The agency said Apo Agua Infrastructura, Inc. (Apo Agua), its partner for the Davao City Bulk Water Project, has also committed to supply water that meets the Philippine National Standard for Drinking Water (PNSDW).

“Taking this classification into account, our partner for the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project, Apo Agua Infrastructura, Inc., has designed a water treatment process which consists of coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, and disinfection,” the statement read.

“DCWD, Apo Agua, and J.V. Angeles Construction Corporation have been doing joint water quality testing and actively coordinating with the immediate local barangays in the Panigan-Tamugan River to proactively monitor the quality of the water supply we are going to use,” it said.

The agency said the results of the tests will be used for the development of an Integrated Watershed Development and Management Plan for the Panigan-Tamugan River, in coordination with the Davao City Multipartite Monitoring Team of the Watershed Management Council.

The plan aims to help secure the water sources for the city.

On Monday, Idis executive director Chinkie Pelino-Golle said the decline of the water quality in the Panigan-Tamugan River is caused by residential plastic trash from houses around the watershed as well as the trekkers who leave their trash in Mt. Tipolog.

She said there were also presence of chemicals found in the water, which indicated the non-organic practices of plantations near the watershed. (RAG)