RECYCLE water even if you live in an area where there is no shortage of it.
That’s the advice of Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) public affairs department manager Charmaine Rodriguez-Kara.
“The supply that we have now is very vital because El Niño is forecast to last for months,” she said last Thursday.
The utility firm reported that its daily production has decreased by 17,288 cubic meters.
Rodriguez-Kara said one can conserve water in several ways, including using used water from laundry to flush toilets.
“You can save six liters of water if you flush toilets with used water,” she said.
Because of the dry spell, the MCWD’s water generation facility in Barangay Jaclupan, Talisay City is producing only 11,000 cubic meters of water a day, from an average of 33,000 cubic meters.
The shortage is felt by MCWD’s consumers in Talisay City and parts of Cebu City, Rodriguez-Kara said.
Households and business establishments in these areas get water for only six hours or less every day.
Rodriguez-Kara said the additional supply the firm is getting from the Carmen Bulk Water Supply Project since January helps fend off shortage in Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City, Cordova, Consolacion, Liloan and Compostela.
The MCWD gets 24,000 cubic meters of water every day from the Carmen facility.
As early as last March, the MCWD issued an advisory asking its consumers to store water.
“Starting March, we already issued an advisory asking our consumers to store water particularly around 10 p.m. when malls, factories and other big establishments that are heavy users of water are closed,” she said.
The MCWD also helps supply water to households in mountain villages that are outside their service areas.
Siphon tanks
Rodriguez-Kara said they deployed two mobile siphon tanks to help provide water to residents of Barangays Bonbon and Cambinocot in Cebu City.
In Mandaue City, City Hall has not received reports of water shortage.
“According to the barangay captains, they are not experiencing water shortage in their areas,” said Felix Suico, head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.