THE Cebu City Government will start to strictly implement City Ordinance 2103, or the rainwater conservation ordinance, which requires residential, commercial and industrial building projects to construct rainwater tanks or cisterns in their properties.
Mayor Edgardo Labella said the ordinance was passed in 2006 yet.
Had the public followed the ordinance, residents and business establishments would have had their own source of water, he said.
The mayor said he will direct the Office of the Building Official (OBO) to make sure that the facility is included in the house or building plan of permit applicants. The OBO will also conduct random inspections to ensure that the facility is built.
He instructed the Department of Engineering and Public Works to come up with a design that will be installed in barangay gyms, in the City Hall and in schools.
He said that this is retroactive order.
Water Advisory Council chairman Roberto Varquez said water harvesting is the “ultimate long-term solution” to fight water crisis.
“Rain is the biggest source of water so we might as well use it,” said Varquez.
During his meeting with Metropolitan Cebu Water District acting general manager Stephen Yee, Water Advisory Council, Mactan Rock Industries Inc. and Aquapure on Thursday, Nov. 21, they came up with an immediate solution, which is to provide water tanks to barangays that have short supply of water.These are Barangays Sambag 1 and 2, Kamputhaw, Punta Princesa, Apas, and Inayawan. JJL