BACOLOD City – Amid cases of water-borne diseases, the city government has been inspecting water-refilling stations since last year and will soon close those that fail to meet the standards and requirements.
As of Friday, Jan. 20, more than a hundred businesses selling drinking water had been issued final notices of violation and temporary closure in October 2022, City Legal Office (CLO) records showed.
“If they have not met the requirements, they will be closed down,” Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Thursday, Jan. 19.
City legal officer Romeo Carlos Ting Jr. said personnel have been assigned to check the compliance of water-refilling stations in securing the mayor’s permit.
“If they have not, we will enforce the closure. We will no longer issue notices of closure again since we already did that last year. It means they do not comply with the requirements,” he added.
On Wednesday, the CLO enforcement team visited water-refilling stations in Barangay Villamonte.
In October last year, about 122 water-refilling stations were closed for lack of permits.
This came after the city started recording cases of cholera, an acute diarrheal infection caused by ingesting contaminated food or water.
In an advisory, it reminded residents to use safe, potable water for drinking and domestic use.
“Get water for drinking only from water refilling stations with updated bacteriological monitoring of their water and permits and ensure that water pipes or hose from PrimeWater has no holes or bandages as contamination may seep in,” the CHO added. (PNA)/PN
