MCWD: Supply dropped, expect less water

THE Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) experienced a water production deficit of 42,452 cubic meters on Wednesday due to the El Niño phenomenon, which will result in consumers experiencing low pressure to no water supply.

According to the water district’s production team data, MCWD produced only at least 258,548 cubic meters of water on April 3, MCWD spokesperson Minerva Gerodias told SunStar Cebu on Thursday, April 4, 2024.

Gerodias said MCWD had produced 310,000 cubic meters per day (CMD) before the occurrence of the El Niño.

The water demand in MCWD’s franchise area is around 600,000 cubic meters per day.

Gerodias said the water supply deficit would result in intermittent supply of water to elevated and interior areas.

MCWD provides services to four cities and four municipalities in Metro Cebu: Cebu City, Talisay City, Mandaue City, Lapu-Lapu City, Cordova, Consolacion, Liloan and Compostela.

The reduction in water supply has occurred across both surface and groundwater facilities managed by the MCWD, which include Jaclupan, Lusaran, Compostela-Cotcot and Buhisan/Tisa Filter Plant.

Last March 13, MCWD chairman Jose Daluz III disclosed that Jaclupan production had dropped to 20,000 from 30,000 CMD, Lusaran production had dropped to 20,000 from 30,000 CMD, Compostela-Cotcot production had plunged to 3,000 from 10,000 CMD, and Buhisan/Tisa Filter Plant production had fallen to 4,000 from 6,000 CMD.

However, Gerodias said the water levels in these dam facilities had further decreased since then.

Recent data from MCWD indicate that Jaclupan production had decreased further to 14,113 CMD, Buhisan/Tisa Filter to 3,700 CMD, Manila Water to 36,982 CMD, and Lusaran/JE Hydro to 16,162 CMD.

Complaints

In a chat message on Thursday, Joseph Cañares, a client of MCWD from Urgello St., Barangay Sambag 2, Cebu City, expressed dissatisfaction with the service provided, saying it does not compensate well for the amount they are paying.

Cañares said the water often occurs at 2 or 3 a.m., and most of the time, their faucets have no water flow throughout the day.

When asked about their water conservation practices at home, Cañares responded that there is nothing to conserve since there is no

water available.

Another MCWD client, Rey Anthony Baluran, a resident of Barangay Talamban, said, “Bisan dili tinghuwaw, walay agas ang gripo. Kon di magpundo og tubig, walay

tubig magamit.”

(Even if there’s no drought, the water doesn’t flow from the faucet. If we don’t store water, there will be no water to use.)

11 concerns

Over the Cebu City Hall program “Ingna’ng Mayor” on Tuesday, April 2, Mayor Michael Rama said the City had identified 11 concerns related to El Niño that were discussed during their emergency convergence meeting on April 1.

The concerns were scarcity of food and crops due to lack of water, occurrence of livestock diseases, limited source of water or absence of water source, public safety such as fire incidents, occurrence of summer-related skin diseases, loss of livelihood among farmers, mental health problems, increase of pests on crops, disruption of classes due to the high heat index, decrease of agricultural products, and drying of ponds.

Rama said they have come up with short, medium and long-term measures to address the 11 concerns on food and water security.

Rama said since last year, short-term projects had been implemented, including acquiring seedlings and conducting education campaigns through the City Agriculture Department.

He said farming supplies had been distributed since October 2023, and the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries began monitoring vector-borne diseases in livestock.

Routine checks on livestock farmers will continue until June.

Water collection

Collaborating with the MCWD, the City installed Mobile Siphon tanks (MST) along rivers in Barangays Buot and Cambinocot to collect and filter water for distribution to affected communities.

The MST in Cambinocot has been operational since last week, while the one in Buot will start operating this week, according to Harold Alcontin, head of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.