ILOILO City – Water rationing preparations are underway by local distributor South Balibago Waterworks in response to a severe water shortage affecting numerous barangays in this city.
According to Rodelyn Ngipen, branch manager, the company is awaiting the finalization of their contract with the city government to determine daily water distribution volumes and the percentage of affected barangays they will service.
The plan is for South Balibago Waterworks to supply approximately 70 percent of the affected barangays, while the major distributor, Metro Pacific Iloilo Water (MPIW), will handle about 20 percent.
The city has set an initial requirement of about 690 cubic meters per day.
“We have held preliminary meetings and anticipate delivering around 400 cubic meters daily,” Ngipen said at a press briefing.
The water rationing is expected to start between the first and second week of May.
Ngipen explained that management is currently strategizing to ensure efficient water distribution to the affected areas, primarily using delivery trucks to fill community tanks during night-time hours to avoid disrupting regular customer service.
South Balibago Waterworks, which primarily serves Jaro district, caters to 6,000 to 7,000 customers and manages a peak water consumption of eight to nine million liters per day (MLD).
“We have a total capacity of 10 MLD and reserve tanks that can augment up to 13 to 14 MLD during peak hours,” Ngipen said.
The water source for South Balibago Waterworks is the Jalaur River in Barangay Bongco, Pototan, Iloilo.
MPIW, a joint venture of Metro Pacific Water and the Metro Iloilo Water District, began operating in July 2019. It serves around 40,000 households across the city and seven nearby municipalities, supplying 40 to 50 million liters out of its 80 million MLD production to Iloilo City alone.
This rationing initiative follows the declaration of a state of calamity in the city due to water scarcity caused by the El Niño phenomenon.
A Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment conducted by the City Environment and Natural Resources Office revealed that 25 barangays are severely affected by the drought, impacting some 23,230 individuals across various districts. The city council has recommended an initial funding of P12 million to address the water shortage./PN
