Homeowners to ask Lapu engineers to inspect subdivision’s water system
HOMEOWNERS of a subdivision in Lapu-Lapu City will also try to ask the City Government to inspect their water system if there was an alteration of the approved plan amid the high price of water that the developer charges them.
Engr. Antonio Dosado, one of the 63 homeowners who complained about Sunberry Homes Inc.’s P350 per cubic meter water rate, told SunStar Cebu Wednesday, April 19, 2023, or a day after they sat down with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and developer on Tuesday, April 18, that there was no positive output during their conference at DHSUD Central Visayas office.
He did not give further details.
“Wala gyud (There was no) positive output. The problem remains the same,” he said.
The homeowners are set to have a dialogue with Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan on Thursday, April 20, wherein Dosado said they will try to ask the mayor if they can request for site inspection by the city engineers together with the Department of Health (DOH) personnel to see if the water supply is safe enough for drinking.
The approved plan, according to the developer’s site engineer, is to connect with the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD), which charges P10 to P15 per cubic meter.
DHSUD 7 reached out to homeowners on Thursday, April 13, or three days after the latter threatened the department that they will file a legal action before the anti-graft office for allegedly failing to act on their request for an investigation.
In the letter sent to the DHSUD on March 21, the homeowners wanted the department to conduct a general inspection of the subdivision’s water system, drainage system and the window chimney of the restroom in every household to check if the developer followed the minimum guidelines set by the DHSUD on the construction of the houses.
They also wanted the department to verify the issuance of the project’s development permit despite the absence of a stable water supply, inspect the appropriateness of the deep well containing the water distributed among homeowners, and investigate the “disproportionate amount” billed to homeowners for the provision of water from a third-party distributor.
Based on their March to April billing, Dosado said the developer continued to charge them P350 per cubic meter of water.
The homeowners also suffer from a scheduled daily water interruption, which started last March 15, even though the management informed them that the subdivision was connected to or sourced its water from MCWD.
An official of Sunberry Homes who asked not to be named said the developer has no choice but to charge homeowners P350 per cubic meter of water since it gets clean water from third-party suppliers.
The official said they initially applied for water service connection with MCWD, but the water utility firm said it has no available water supply or source in the area. (MKG)