By CESAR JOLITO III

The Bacolod City government has launched a dedicated hotline to address growing water supply concerns as the ongoing dry spell continues to affect several communities.

Mayor Greg Gasataya announced the initiative following a coordination meeting with key departments and representatives from the Bacolod City Water District (Baciwa) – PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. held at the Bacolod City Government Center on Tuesday, April 21.

Residents experiencing low or no water supply may report issues through the hotline 0930-047-8289, allowing city authorities to monitor conditions in real time and relay complaints directly to the water utility for immediate action.

The move comes as supply gaps persist in parts of the city, prompting the local government to prepare contingency measures.

The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office has been directed to deploy around 15 water tanks, each capable of holding 2,000 liters, in anticipation of possible water rationing in severely affected areas.

Data from Baciwa – PrimeWater showed that water production reached 89 million liters per day (MLD) as of Tuesday, following recent interventions that boosted output by four MLD.

The utility firm is targeting an additional increase of three to four MLD within the week, aiming to surpass the 90 MLD mark to ease supply shortages.

City officials, however, stressed that further improvements are needed, particularly in underserved areas such as Barangays Tangub and Cabug, where residents continue to experience intermittent or no water access.

To augment supply distribution, the utility has also committed to installing 16 additional storage tanks in critical locations across the city./CJ, WDJ