MORE than two weeks after Typhoon Tino (Kalmaegi) caused devastation in Cebu Island, many households and businesses in Metro Cebu still struggle with the slow restoration of potable water.
Water-reliant establishments reported significant losses as supply remained unstable.
Owners of water-dependent establishments said the outages disrupted daily operations and increased costs.
Ariel Adanza, who runs a water refilling station and a laundry shop in Talisay City, said low pressure continues to hamper output. Another laundry shop in the city said customers now wait three to five days instead of the usual one day, with staff waking up at 2 a.m. to monitor pressure and fill storage tanks.
A separate laundry shop in Talisay closed its branch due to the lack of supply and now outsources loads to branches in areas with better water access.
Carl Cabusas, president of the Talisay City Chamber of Commerce, said most enterprises have reopened but still face losses and operational setbacks from the outages. He said power has been restored in most parts of Talisay, but water supply remains unstable.
“Water supply remains a significant biggest challenge,” Cabusas said in a text message to SunStar Cebu on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025.
Residents endure long waits
Residents across Metro Cebu also reported continued hardships.
Narvie Borja, a student from Sitio Anapog in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City, said she was forced to stay with relatives in Carcar City in the southern part of the province due to the lack of water at home. She travels daily to Cebu City for classes and said the routine is exhausting.
She said someone working for the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) told her that the water supply in Lahug would be fully restored before the month ends.
“If possible, the supply will return earlier than the promised date of Nov. 26,” Borja said in an interview via Messenger. She also cares for her four younger siblings.
Borja said that although the barangay provides water every other day, only households near the main road benefit. Her home is far from the highway.
Sai, who declined to be identified by her full name and is a resident of Sitio Lumbang in Barangay Pulpogan, Consolacion, said they have had no water for 14 days. Her family relies on a long hose connected to a neighbor whose source is not from MCWD. They pay extra for access and wake up early to fill drums.
She said an MCWD team visited their area but left after confirming the lack of supply. She also questioned why MCWD disabled comments on its Facebook page.
In Cebu City, resident Alex Bordiano of Tres de Abril Street said they have had no water since Nov. 10. He observed residents lining up for tanker deliveries and said he had to buy mineral water for household use. He said MCWD has not replied to calls or messages.
Clariza Sevilla of Barangay Guizo, Mandaue City, said MCWD’s hotline was unreachable. She said she waited on the line for two hours before her call was dropped. She described the water district’s online responses as generic.
“The large volume of calls means they’re not doing their job right,” she said.
MCWD explains delays in restoration
As of Nov. 18, MCWD said it has restored 76 percent of its total supply, producing 208,599 cubic meters of water out of its usual 275,000 cubic meters.
MCWD information officer Minerva Gerodias said low or no pressure persists due to damage at the Jaclupan facility in Talisay City and the JE Hydro plant in the Lusaran reservoir in Cebu City. Both remain non-operational.
She said MCWD plans to bypass the three-month repair period for the damaged pipe in Jaclupan by installing a new pipeline from a new supplier to connect the Lagtang, Talisay, and Tisa, Cebu City reservoirs.
Gerodias said supply from Jaclupan may resume by Thursday, Nov. 20.
She added that Guizo faces a supply crisis. About 17,000 cubic meters of water are offline due to flooding affecting the supplier in Compostela and the collapse of a transmission pipe from the supplier in Consolacion.
Clarification on social media concerns
Gerodias said MCWD disabled comments on its official social media pages to direct consumers to Messenger. She said comments are not visible to customer service representatives.
“We encourage them to message us directly, rather than using the public comment section to voice their concerns,” she said.
She added that hotline callers sometimes queue due to high call volume. She said MCWD has fewer customer service representatives compared with call centers.
Advisories and franchise coverage
In its latest advisory, MCWD reminded the public that unauthorized drilling, puncturing or altering its pipelines is illegal and may cause interruptions, water loss or contamination.
MCWD’s franchise area covers cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay and Lapu-Lapu, as well as the municipalities of Consolacion, Liloan, Compostela and Cordova. (Bryce Ken Abellon, USJ-R intern, EHP)