TWO weeks after typhoon Tino (Kalmaegi) caused widespread devastation on Cebu Island, a significant portion of Metro Cebu continues to face water shortages. Households and businesses are still grappling with the slow restoration of potable water.
Water-reliant establishments, in particular, have reported significant financial losses as their supply remains unstable and insufficient for operations. While power has been largely restored in areas like Talisay City, the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) confirmed on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, that the water supply is not yet back to normal due to major infrastructure damage. This has forced residents and business owners to find costly and difficult workarounds to secure water for daily needs.
THE STRUGGLE ON THE GROUND. The prolonged outages have disrupted daily life and commerce, creating a difficult situation for establishments that depend on water to operate. Carl Cabusas, the president of the Talisay City Chamber of Commerce, confirmed that while most enterprises have managed to reopen, they are still facing operational setbacks and financial losses. He identified the unstable water supply as the “significant biggest challenge” for the business community.
Specific business owners detailed their struggles. Ariel Adanza, who operates both a water refilling station and a laundry shop in Talisay, said that persistent low pressure continues to hamper his output. Another laundry shop in the city reported a dramatic increase in turnaround time, with customers now waiting three to five days for service instead of the usual one. Their staff has been forced to wake up at 2 a.m. just to monitor the water pressure and fill storage tanks. The situation became untenable for one laundry business, which had to close a branch in Talisay and outsource its loads to other branches in areas with better water access.
Residents are facing similar, if not greater, hardships. Narvie Borja, a student from Sitio Anapog in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City, was forced to leave her home and stay with relatives in Carcar City due to the lack of water. She now endures an exhausting daily commute to her classes in Cebu City while also caring for her four younger siblings. While Barangay Lahug provides water every other day, she noted that only households near the main road benefit.
In Consolacion, a resident named Sai, who declined to give her full name, reported being without water for 14 days since typhoon Tino brought heavy flooding to the town last Nov. 4. Her family relies on a long hose connected to a neighbor who has a non-MCWD source, paying extra for the access and waking up early to fill their drums. In Cebu City, Alex Bordiano of Tres de Abril St. said his area has been without water since Nov. 10, observing residents lining up for tanker deliveries and forcing him to buy mineral water for basic household use.
WHY IS THE WATER PRESSURE SLOW. The MCWD has attributed the significant supply shortfall to specific, severe infrastructure damage caused by the typhoon. As of Nov. 18, MCWD information officer Minerva Gerodias said the district had managed to restore 76 percent of its total supply. This amounts to 208,599 cubic meters of water being produced out of the usual 275,000 cubic meters.
Gerodias explained that the persistent low pressure and areas with no water are primarily due to two major facilities remaining non-operational: the Jaclupan facility in Talisay City and the JE Hydro plant at the Lusaran reservoir in Cebu City.
The situation is particularly difficult for residents of Barangay Guizo in Mandaue City. This area is experiencing a severe shortage because 17,000 cubic meters of its water supply are offline. This was caused by a double blow: flooding that affected the supplier in Compostela and the total collapse of a transmission pipe from the supplier in Consolacion.
FRUSTRATION OVER COMMUNICATION. Aside from lack of water, public frustration has mounted over MCWD’s communication. Residents like Clariza Mae Sevilla of Guizo described the utility’s hotline as unreachable, recounting how she waited on the line for two hours before her call was dropped. She also described the water district’s online responses as “generic.” “The large volume of calls means they’re not doing their job right,” she said. Alex Bordiano in Cebu City also noted that MCWD had not replied to his calls or messages.
This frustration was amplified by MCWD’s decision to disable the comments section on its official Facebook page, a move questioned by residents like Sai. In response, Gerodias clarified the utility’s reasoning, saying that the move was intended to direct consumers to its official Messenger account.
Gerodias explained that comments posted publicly are not visible to their customer service representatives. “We encourage them to message us directly, rather than using the public comment section to voice their concerns,” she said. She also acknowledged the hotline queues, attributing them to a high call volume being handled by a staff that is smaller than a typical call center’s.
WHAT’S NEXT. MCWD has outlined its immediate plans to expedite the restoration of services. To address the critical damage at the Jaclupan facility, the utility firm plans to bypass the estimated three-month repair period for the main damaged pipe. The workaround involves installing a new, separate pipeline from a new supplier, which will be used to connect the Lagtang (Talisay) and Tisa (Cebu City) reservoirs. Gerodias provided a hopeful timeline, suggesting that supply from the Jaclupan source may resume as early as Thursday, Nov. 20.
Residents have also been given tentative timelines. Narvie Borja in Lahug mentioned being told by an MCWD worker that her area’s water supply would be fully restored before the end of the month, possibly by Nov. 26. In the meantime, as repairs are underway, MCWD issued an advisory reminding the public that unauthorized drilling, puncturing or altering its pipelines is illegal. Such actions, the utility warned, could cause further interruptions, water loss, or contamination. / BRYCE KEN ABELLON, USJ-R INTERN, WITH REPORTS FROM EHP