Improved water supply will be experienced by residents in three major barangays in the southern part of the city with the injection of four million liters per day (MLD) starting yesterday.
This was confirmed by Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez as water shortage has been reported in several areas of some barangays amid the extreme heat, prompting the city government to activate measures to address the limited water supply.
“This will improve water supply in Tangub, Cabug and Sum-ag,” he said.
As of this week, the city’s normal water supply of 84 MLD has decreased to only about 79 MLD.
The four MLD are part of the additional volume of 10 MLD secured by Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa)-PrimeWater from its supplier, Bacolod Bulk Water Inc.
In an interview over the mayor’s radio program, PrimeWater Bacolod City maintenance head John Arlan Canatoy said their projection of an additional 10 MLD had been reduced to only four MLD due to the challenges brought by the prolonged hot weather.
He said they are also expecting an additional three MLD from the Matab-ang Water Treatment Plant, expected to be operational by the end of March.
“With the additional seven MLD, that will alleviate the shortage in water supply,” he said.
Benitez said that meantime, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) will deploy at least 18 water trucks along with the 24 water trucks of PrimeWater to areas with limited water supply.
The Bureau of Fire Protection will also let the city utilize its two fire trucks for water rationing while volunteer groups will also provide assistance, he added.
“This will be for two to three weeks, a short-term solution that we will provide to our affected residents. We hope this month, we will be able to generate seven MLD so that our water supply will increase and in the next couple of months, we can catch up with the shortage,” Benitez said.
From late March to end of April last year, the CDRRMO delivered at least 663,500 liters of water to 33,966 households that experienced water shortage due to the drought caused by El Niño.
The water rationing benefited the affected households in 18 of 61 villages in the city. (PNA)