Water district identifies solutions, all long-term

Water district identifies solutions, all long-term

DEVELOPING surface water through dams and establishing desalination plants were among the solutions the Metroropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) presented to Cebu mayors Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, to solve the supply shortage.

But since construction of these facilities would take time to complete, League of Municipalities of the Philippines Cebu chapter president and Liloan Mayor Christina Garcia-Frasco suggested approaching the problem in a manner that is specific to each local government unit’s (LGU) needs.

MCWD general manager Jose Eugenio Singson Jr. reported to the Metro Cebu Development and Coordinating Board (MCDCB) Friday that the MCWD has a daily water supply of 233,000 cubic meters.

The water volume delivered, though, was only at 176,000 cubic meters daily.

As of March 2019, the MCWD had 193,655 actual service connections in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, Talisay, and the towns of Compostela, Consolacion, Cordova and Liloan.

For this year, the average total water demand is placed at 538,000 cubic meters. Singson said the daily shortfall of 300,000 cubic meters is sourced from private wells, among others.

This would also mean that around 300,000 households in Metro Cebu are deprived of an average of one cubic meter per day due to the shortage.

Singson attributed the disparity in MCWD’s demand and supply to non-revenue services for corporate social responsibility, pipeline leaks and inaccuracy in data.

These leaks contributed to a daily supply loss of 60,000 liters, or 24 percent of MCWD’s total production.

Since the MCWD has close to P1 billion in cash in the bank, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said it’s time its officials gave equal importance to pipeline rehabilitation.

The governor, who sits as MCDCB chairperson, said the rehabilitation of pipelines will help MCWD recover the 60,000 liters of water it loses every day from leaks.

Singson then shared plans to tap surface water and build dams in Barangay Maghaway in Talisay City and Barangays Malubog and Lusaran in Cebu City. The same plans were proposed five years ago, Singson said, but there were no takers.

Another option, Singson said, is to build desalination plants for Lapu-Lapu City and Cordova town. Both LGUs, especially Lapu-Lapu, are still dependent on mainland Cebu.

He lamented that the 35 million liters of bulk water the MCWD gets daily from Luyang River in Carmen town are supplied solely to Lapu-Lapu.

Last July, the MCWD accepted the proposal of the Metro Pacific Investments Corp. - Aboitiz consortium for the construction of a desalination plant in the city. There are also plans to develop the same plant in Cordova.

Singson, meanwhile, asked Frasco to reconsider the town’s plan to terminate the agreement that allowed MCWD to operate 17 wells in the northern town.

Frasco expressed her townspeople’s dismay over the absence of “visible efforts” from MCWD to address their water situation.

She also said MCWD knows the shortage for every LGU, so it should propose solutions for every LGU.

“This way, it won’t be too difficult to address an already big enough problem. Right now, you’re looking into large-scale solutions which will still take time. What can you possibly do? (Perhaps) have a more focused approach per LGU,” she said.

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