CEBU City Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña is backing a plan to raise water rates by 10 percent. On April 10, Osmeña explained that while no one likes a price hike, this one is necessary to keep the water flowing to Cebuano homes.
The increase will cost the average household about P23 more per month. Osmeña believes this is a fair price if the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) uses the money to fix broken pipes and stop leaks.
Currently, about 35 percent of the water treated by MCWD never reaches customers. Instead, it is lost through old, leaking infrastructure or illegal connections. "The agency’s bigger problem is inefficiency," Osmeña warned, noting that these losses must be stopped to save the system's finances.
The vice mayor also raised concerns about private wells. Because these wells are often unregulated, people are pulling too much water from the ground. This causes saltwater to leak into the city's freshwater supply. When these private wells go "salty," people rush back to MCWD, putting even more stress on the public water system. CAV