DAVAO City Water District (DCWD) announced a significant achievement in climate change resilience for its water service during the Davao Peace and Security Press Corps presser held at the Royal Mandaya Hotel on Wednesday, August 21, 2024.
DCWD spokesperson JC Duhaylungsod said the city has proven its capacity to sustain a robust water supply amidst climate challenges, a feat highlighted during the recent El Niño when many parts of the country faced severe drought and water shortages.
“Sa pagkakaron, we can claim that Davao City has achieved tung atong ginatawag na climate resiliency in terms of water service kay atoang napamatud-an during that time of El Niño when every place in the country has been experiencing drought ug water shortage, ang Davao City, opposite ang atoang scenario, abunda kaayo ta og supply,” Duhaylungsod said.
(As of now, we can claim that Davao City has achieved what we call climate resiliency in terms of water service, as demonstrated during the El Niño period when every place in the country was experiencing drought and water shortages. In contrast, Davao City's scenario was the opposite; we had an abundant supply.)
Duhaylungsod also noted that despite the current rainy season, which brings potential issues such as turbidity in groundwater, Davao City has managed to minimize disruptions to water service, ensuring reliable access for its residents.
“Despite sa atoang mga pagpahimangno nga mangandam during the time nga naay sagunson or kusog nga pag-ulan because of the possible reduced water flow due to turbidity, which affects our groundwater, halos dili siya mabati sa atoang customers kung naa may effect sa operasyon sa atoang bulk water supplier (Despite our reminders to prepare during times of heavy rain or storms due to the potential reduction in water flow caused by turbidity, which affects our groundwater, our customers hardly notice any impact if there is any effect on the operations of our bulk water supplier),” she said.
Currently, the DCWD has over 250,000 service connections.
The DCWD remains focused on sustaining and enhancing its services, particularly addressing the five percent of connections that still do not receive 24-hour water supply.
The water district is also expanding its reach by extending an installment option for new service connections at a reduced fee of P500 until December 31, 2024, to encourage more residential applications and improve access to dependable water service across the city. KBP