OFFICIALS of the Angeles City Water District (ACWD) have assured its consumers that it is working hard to improve the quality of water supply including its taste, smell and color caused by the presence of chemical elements called iron and manganese.
ACWD General Manager Reynaldo Liwanag issued the statement following complaints of dirty water from some residents of Northville 15 Subdivision in Barangay Cutud.
Liwanag disclosed that the ACWD management is in the process of bidding out the P8-million water filtration system in said village to correct the iron and manganese problem that result to poor quality water supply during peak hours.
The project is called DMI-65 or the Advance Oxidation Water Filtration for color, iron, and manganese correction, the ACWD executive said.
Liwanag said they recently acquired and installed in Barangay Capaya 1 pumping station a DMI-65 media, a product of Quantum FIltration Medium Pty. Ltd. from AUstralia the ACWD acquired from Bauer International Philippines Incorporated.
The filtration system efficiently lowered the iron and manganese content of the water supply in Capaya 1 to the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW) '17 limits, the ACWD official added.
The ACWD purchased two more sets of DMI 65 Water Filtration System for Northville 15 and Barangay Sapalibutad, Liwanag added.
Liwanag said that water samples coming out from the Northville pumping station pass the PNSDW during normal period when the demand is low.
The problem only occurs when there is high demand of supply and the ACWD technicians have to increase the water pressure. During these times, the filtration system of water sediments fails, according to Liwanag.
"We would like to assure our consumers in those areas that the problem about the odor, color and taste of water will improve once the project is completed hopefully in three months time after we awarded the design, installation, and commissioning of the filtration system to the succesful bidder or contractor," Liwanag said.
Officials and residents of Northville Subdivision have assailed the ACWD for the dirty and smelly water coming out of their faucets.
Councilor Jesus "Jay" Sangil said he received complaints from scores of residents when he personally visited the village to verify the reports.
Sangil said the water facility's franchise should be reviewed by Congress, the LGU and the Local Water Utilities Adminnistration or LWUA.
The councilor said more than 3,500 households or close to 40,000 residents are affected by the water problem.
"Marami na ang issues against the ACWD and it seems the management is used to take action in years. Hundreds of children are complaining of skin diseases," he said.
DUring his meeting with Barangay Cutud council members headed by Chairman Jun Ferraris, Sangil said he learned that ACWD officials vowed to solve the water issue in three months but after almost 10 years the problem got worse.
"About 80 percent of the residents are drinking on the water faucet. Pinapakulo na lamang ng ibang mga residente ang tubig galing sa ACWD. Only 20 percent can afford to buy purified water," he added.
"Lahat ng puting damit dito sa amin ay halos nagkulay kalawang na pati nga pagligo namin kahit mag sabon pa kami may amoy pa rin. May putik na, naglulumot pa," Sangil quoted the residents as saying.
Last year, Sangil also raised an issue of water problem which affected the upland villages of Margot and Sapangbato.