• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Bacolod City government advised residents March 11 to prepare for a reduction in water supply, with the start of summer and the reported shortage in the delivery from bulk water suppliers of Baciwa-PrimeWater.
The reduction is compounded by illegal connections, which contribute to non-revenue water losses, the city said in an advisory.
Mayor Alfredo Benitez has already directed the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the City Engineer’s Office to initiate water distribution and rationing to affected barangays.
The city government also implemented a “Patubig sa Barangay” all over Bacolod at the height of the prolonged El Niño last year.
It assured residents that “all necessary measures are being taken to ensure that water reaches those in need” even as it strongly urged Bacolodnons to conserve water.
It added that to help mitigate the water reduction impact, several projects are ongoing, including the operations of the Bacolod Bulk Water Inc. (BBWI) Injection Point 2, and the Matab-ang Treatment Plant, to help improve water distribution in the north and south of the highly-urbanized city.
Flushing of the Point 2 pipeline, from the Murcia Water Treatment Plant to Mansilingan, was recently implemented “in preparation for the injection of 6,500 cubic meter ground reservoir to augment the current water supply situation of the south service area of Bacolod,” the Baciwa-PrimeWater earlier said.
Injection Point 2 targets to provide an additional 10 million liters per day (MLD) of water, as per the bulk water supply agreement, signed in June last year, between BBWI and Baciwa-PrimeWater.
It aims to improve the supply of water to around 10,000 households in the south areas of Bacolod, including barangays Mansilingan, Handumanan, Felisa, Alijis, Tangub, Taculing, Pahanocoy, Sum-ag, and Singcang.
These areas, along with barangays Mandalagan, Vista Alegre, Villamonte, 40, and Banago were worst-hit by water shortage in the first and second quarters of 2024, as per the water availability map from Baciwa-PrimeWater. | CGC
