The production of desalinated water may in the future solve the scarcity of potable water in Cebu City and in neighboring cities and towns served by the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), but at the burden of water consumers because the cost of desalinating salt or brackish water is very high.
In a statement to the press weeks ago, MCWD chairman Atty. Joey Daluz III, exuding confidence, said the Inayawan desalination project can produce 30 million liters of desalinated water that will supply the south of Cebu City and Talisay City. But as to how potable the desalinated water will be is still a big doubt for the consumers.
If the statements of Attorney Daluz are to be believed that the water district’s desalination projects will push through because the bidding for the Inayawan desalination project is already a done deal despite his ongoing embroilment with Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, end users can pray for enlightenment.
Consider that as of Dec. 1, 2023, MCWD already increased water rates for industrial and commercial consumers even after board directors Danilo Ortiz and Earl Bonachita earlier raised the question on the propriety of the increase.
Ortiz and Bonachita are the two incumbent MCWD directors who took their oath before Mayor Rama together with retired army general Mel Feliciano, as the new chairman of MCWD; and Aristotle Bathan, and Nelson Yuvallos. They now compose the Rama-appointed board. To recall, Daluz ordered Ortiz and Bonachita to explain their absences in the board meetings that he called.
It was this directive of Daluz for Ortiz and Bonachita to explain their absences wherein they disparaged in their letter reply the authority of Daluz over them. They also revealed how expensive the three desalination projects are. Ortiz and Bonachita claimed that for these water projects MCWD must pay about P67 billion for 29 years, or from 2025 until 2054. Daluz confirmed this matter in an interview.
Feliciano, in a statement sent to me in reaction to my column last week, said “the abrupt price increase for the industrial and commercial water consumers as mentioned by Attorney Daluz will not only discourage investment, but it will have a domino effect in the clients and consumers of these establishments. As always, the burden is passed on to the end users.”
Feliciano also revealed that someone (no name was mentioned) offered desalination at a lower price, or about 40 percent less, but was not accepted by the MCWD management.
According to Feliciano, another alternative supply is surface water from the rivers upstream that could be developed. Construction of another dam in the Mananga River can supply more water than three desalination plants at a much cheaper price, less than P30 per cubic meter compared to the P73 per cubic meter of desalinated water, he said.
Feliciano said there is already a proponent for the dam, which could be operational within the time frame similar to the timeline for the completion and operation of the desalination plant, but it was also not considered. He, however, did not say who rejected these two proposals.
The manner with how the MCWD is being managed now can only give rise to a proposition that the water district is commercialized and is no longer serving its purpose, which is to provide the consuming public with affordable (potable) water, being nature’s gift.