BACOLOD CITY: Households in the northern part of this city experiencing water shortage are benefiting from an additional 2 million liters of water per day (MLD) from the newly developed water source of private firm PrimeWater Infrastructure, Inc., the joint venture agreement (JVA) partner of Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa). Mona Dia Jardin, general manager of Baciwa, said on Wednesday the blessing was held on Tuesday for the Highland Hills Water Source Development Project, which aims to deliver up to 2 MLD to residents of Barangays Granada and Vista Alegre. 'Per technical report, it can serve around 2,000 residential houses. The full operation started last week,' she said in a radio interview. Meanwhile, the Forbes Hill Water Source Interconnection and Pipelaying Project will deliver a water supply of 2 MLD for residents of Barangays Bata and Mandalagan, particularly the Eroreco area. Jardin said after the groundbreaking was also held on Tuesday, the project is expected to be completed after a month. 'It's a one-kilometer pipelaying to reach the interconnection point. In a month, we will finish it and an additional water source will enter the (distribution) system,' she added. Jardin said that El Niño, which has brought a prolonged dry spell, led to the decreased delivery of bulk water suppliers to Baciwa-PrimeWater. 'They used to provide an average 12 MLD, now it is only 7 MLD,' she said. Earlier this week, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez directed the Baciwa officials to submit a water security plan as he noted the failure of PrimeWater to comply with its contract to improve supply for Bacolod residents in the past four years. 'I'm asking for a water security plan. It would not address (the water shortage) due to El Niño, but in overall direction, planning perspective, where are we when it comes to water supply,' he added. Benitez noted that Bacolod's water supply of 70 MLD was reduced to only 50 MLD. 'We're short of 20 MLD to begin with. PrimeWater customers need 90 MLD, so we're really short of 40 MLD,' the mayor said. Due to water shortage in several barangays in recent weeks, the city government has deployed water trucks for water distribution and rationing in affected areas across the city. Source: Philippines News Agency
