BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
ILOILO City – The Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) vows to deliver sufficient water in time for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit next year.
MIWD OIC-general manager Amarylis Josephine Castro said so yesterday, adding that the office is currently undertaking projects aimed at maximizing water output.
One of the projects which Castro identified is the pipe laying at the circumferential road in Jaro area to be done in collaboration with a private contractor.
“We don’t want mapahiya ang Iloilo for that matter,” Castro said.
Iloilo is one of the confirmed sites of some of APEC ministerial meetings.
She added that the MIWD management and the Board of Directors are working hand in hand with other stakeholders to put an end to water dearth in the city and suburbs.
She acknowledged the support extended by Iloilo’s Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. and Iloilo City’s Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.
GEARING FOR EL NIÑO
The water district is also preparing for the coming of El Niño or long drought, said Castro, with the revival of its old water sources in Brgy. Talanghauan, Sta. Barbara, Iloilo.
They are also addressing the siltation problem at the Maasin dam, which is its major water source, by cleaning up the treatment plant to accommodate more water.
MIWD, Castro recalled, has a pending commitment from bulk water supplier Prime Water Ventures Corp. for additional 6,000 cubic meters per day on top of the contracted 10,000 cubic meters of water.
Castro said the other bulk water supplier, Flo Water Resources Iloilo, Inc., is now devising ways and means ton to infuse the whole 15, 000 cubic meters as contracted. Until now, it is only capable of supplying 5,000 to 6,000 cubic meters daily.
Castro said a water pipeline will be installed from Tacas to their extension line in San Isidro, all in Jaro district./PN
