The Bacolod City council has urged PrimeWater Bacolod City to address the numerous complaints on its poor service, particularly the “dark, smelly and contaminated water” that has affected households in several barangays this week.
In a statement yesterday, Councilor Caesar Distrito said he authored a resolution passed by the city council on Wednesday afternoon, August 6, calling for action from the water service provider amid “the absence of clear communication and accountability” on its part.
“The people of Bacolod deserve safe, clean, and potable water. PrimeWater-Bacolod City Water District [Baciwa] must immediately explain what caused this water contamination and what they are doing about it,” he added.
Distrito said the complaints came from residents of many areas in the city, reporting “that the water from their faucets in recent days was dark-colored, foul-smelling, and potentially unsafe for use and consumption.”
Particularly affected are households in the city’s most populated barangays that include Taculing, Singcang-Airport, Sum-ag, Mansilingan, Banago, Cabug, Pahanocoy, Tangub, Alijis, Bata, and almost all numbered barangays located near the downtown area.
“The absence of clear communication and accountability is unacceptable,” Distrito said, adding that what is happening is “no longer just a service issue, but a public health concern.”
Distrito said the entire city council, led by Vice Mayor Claudio Jesus Puentevella, will personally deliver the resolution to PrimeWater and its joint venture partner Baciwa within the week.
In the resolution, the city council also urgently requested the PrimeWater Bacolod City “to provide a full public report identifying the cause of the water quality issues, the barangays and households affected, the immediate safety and remedial measures taken, and the long-term solutions being implemented to prevent this from happening again.”
In his State of the Nation Address on July 28, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said he had personally reviewed the report from the Local Water Utilities Administration, showing the pervasive complaints against several water districts and their private partners, and committed to acting against those responsible for the dismal water service. (PNA)