WHILE fixing old pipes and leakage may not be part of their obligation, a representative of Cebu Manila Water Development Inc. has assured that they will help the northern town of Carmen address its water concerns.
In a text message to SunStar Cebu on Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019, Cebu Water general manager Constantine Uy said what they have committed to Carmen was to supply 200 cubic meters of bulk water a day at no cost to the Municipal Government.
“We are currently providing 400 to 600 cubic meters/day, two to three times (more than) what is required from us under the contract. The problem of Carmen LGU (local government unit) now is in the distribution of water supply because of high leakage level, old pipes, etc., which is not part of our contractual commitment. But we are studying how we could help them,” Yu added.
During Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia’s earlier stint in 2012, the Capitol entered into a joint venture agreement with Manila Water Consortium Inc. to manage the bulk water supply in Luyang River in Carmen.
In 2014, the P1.1-billion water supply project started producing 35 million liters of water daily to homes in Metro Cebu.
But for a town that is a major source of potable water to other LGUs, including densely populated Cebu City, Carmen is currently experiencing a water shortage.
Because of this, town officials led by Mayor Carlo Villamor have sought the help of the Provincial Government to come up with viable solutions to thresh out water concerns.
Among the town officials’ concerns was to provide Level III water connections to households.
In response, Garcia gave Manila Water a one-year ultimatum to help Carmen address its water problem. (RTF)