DCWD assures water is safe
The Davao City Water District (DCWD) assures its customers that its water sources are safe.
This comes after social media posts claiming that several persons from the Toril to Matina areas have been experiencing loose bowel movement (LBM) after drinking tap water.
“DCWD immediately double-checked all of its water sources in the affected areas. DCWD reports that all chlorination facilities are working 100% with chlorine residual within the normal limits (0.8 ppm). This residual is enough to inactivate bacteria causing waterborne diseases such as diarrhea,” DCWD said in their press statement on Facebook on July 17, 2022.
The water utility provider added that it has protocols in place to ensure that the water it provides to customers meets the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW). It maintains the use of controlled dosages of gas chlorine to treat the water and ensure its safety for consumption.
In an interview with SunStar Davao on July 17, 2022, Dr. Ashley Lopez said the investigation is still ongoing. He added most of the LBM cases were in Toril.
“What’s happening right now in Toril affects several barangays, naa sa mga (around) eight to 10 barangays, it started in July up to present pero ang peak man gud sa cases happened yesterday (July 16, 2022) na hospitals are already overwhelmed sa cases nga naa na tay 32 admissions related to diarrhea (it peaked on July 16 with 32 admissions related to diarrhea, overwhelming the hospitals in the area), it affects both District Toril A and Toril B, Lubugan, Camansi, Crossing-Bayabas proper, etc.,” Lopez said.
Lopez said since it was Sunday they cannot perform a rectal swab to the patients.
“SPMC (Southern Philippines Medical Center) will be available for testing tomorrow, so first thing in the morning tomorrow ato ning buhaton and katong analysis nato sa tubig with in coordination with SPMC, anytime tomorrow we will be releasing official findings gyud (we will do this and conduct a water analysis in coordination with SPMC),” Lopez said.
DCWD and Lopez advised the public to boil their water before drinking it until the source of the LBM cases is determined.
“If we can use mineral or bottled water mas maayo, so that ma-guarantee nato ang safety nato, because we are highly presuming na ang cause sa diarrhea outbreak diha, is tungod sa tubig, although this something that is expected labi na sa panahon karun nga rainy season naa ta'y incidents na mga flooding og possible reason of the contamination, but all of this are still haka-haka, ato ning i-confirm sa moabot na mga adlaw (much better, to guarantee our safety. We presume that the cause of the diarrhea outbreak in the area is the water. But we somehow expected that because of the rainy season, which flooded some areas and may have contaminated the water sources. But these are just assumptions. We will know more in the coming days),” Lopez said.
DCWD said customers can report or reach out directly to their 24-hour call center hotlines at 235-3293, 244-6767, 0927-798-8966, 0925-511-3293 or 0908-441-0653 and chat support in the DCWD’s website at www.davao-water.gov.ph for any water quality concerns. KSD