BAGUIO CITY– The Baguio Water District (BWD) disclosed it can still provide the required supply of potable water for its growing number of consumers even up to the projected end of the projected prolonged El Niño phenomenon by June this year.
However, BWD General Manager Engr. Salvador M. Royeca during an interview over One for the Road afternoon program aired over RPN-DZBS 1368 KHz Baguio said there will just be slight adjustments on the regular schedules of water supply to the consumers, thus, the need for people to adhere to the responsible use of water.
“We are now feeling the effects of the expected prolonged dry spell so we should start practicing the responsible use of water in our homes and commercial establishments” Royeca stressed.
The BWD official disclosed that among the slight adjustments being done by the water district in the distribution of available water supply is that the previous daily schedule of water to certain barangays will be reduced to 4 times a week, the previous thrice a week schedule might be reduced to twice a week and the usual 12-hour schedule will be reduced to around 8 hours so that consumers from the different barangays can receive their regular water supply.
He claimed the demand for water in the city reaches its peak during the peak tourism months and during weekends where consumers require over 80,000 cubic meters of potable water daily compared to the daily production of its deep wells and other sources of over 60,000 cubic meters of potable water daily, thus, the practice of providing schedules in the provision of water supply to the different barangays in the city.
According to him, the highly elevated areas in the city that are now experiencing difficulty in having access to water supply include Quirino Hill, Aurora Hill, Pacdal and Gibraltar areas so one remedy is the water deliveries to the residents in the said places considering the weakening water pressure.
Royeca explained the water district continues to explore potential water sources in the different parts of the city to bring closer to the consumers the source of their water supply and sustain a decent growth in the volume of water production that could eventually match the rapidly growing demand for potable water in the city.
From the previous 40 percent systems loss incurred by the water district, he stated this has been lowered to 22 percent but efforts are still being done to continue reducing the systems loss to lessen the burden being passed on to the consumers.
Royeca emphasized one of the primary objectives of the water district is to ensure the efficient delivery of potable water to the households through its reliable system and to cater to the growing demand of consumers without significantly altering the prescribed schedules of water to the different barangays.
He admitted that providing potable water supply to the increasing number of consumers in the city’s different barangays is challenging for the water district because of the terrain that serves as one of the defining factors in ensuring the regularity of water to the consumers in the different barangays of the city.
By HENT
