ILOILO City – This southern city is bracing for low water supply and effects of the start of the dry season.
The city’s major water distributor – Metro Pacific Iloilo Water (MPIW), a joint venture of Metro Pacific Water (MPW) and Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) – has drawn up a mitigation plan.
MJ Josue, Corporate Affairs and Communication head of MPIW, said they are constantly coordinating with their bulk water suppliers to also prepare their water treatment plants and ensure emergency measures are in place.
“Nagkakaroon kami ng contingency planning sa kanila para maiwasan ang pag-bog down ng mga pumping stations nila and other things like these,” said Josue.
Also, she noted they do network management operation wherein MPIW implements strategic reconfiguration of their network system, and this is where supply scheduling scheme comes in.
“We will implement a supply schedule scheme so available water from our bulk water suppliers will be equitably distributed to all our customers. With the scheduling, our ultimate goal is for our customers to have water,” Josue explained.
She said the problem is really the water supply. She cited the water demand within the concession area of MPIW is around 80 to 100 million liters of water per day (MLD) but the supply from bulk water suppliers is only around 50 to 70 MLD or a scarcity of round 30 MLD.
“So ang ginagawa ng MPIW is really manage the network configuration. So we are doing the scheduling system para sa lahat ma-distribute ang limited supply ng water,” she further explained.
Aside from network management, Josue said they have to ready their water tankers which can help augment water supply delivery to critical areas in the city.
“We have likewise coordinated with our partner LGUs (local government units) and Bureau of Fire Protection for assistance to increase the fleet of roving water tankers. Water tankers are only used whenever there is difficulty in pressure build-up and in areas located at the far end of the network,” he added.
Meanwhile, Josue explained there are water infrastructures that are already poor and aged, thus, the prolong build-up of water pressure that sometimes hampered the water supply of the concessionaires.
“Ito rin ang dahilan kung bakit sometimes kahit nag-set kami ng schedule, hindi dumating ‘yung tubig. Ito ‘yung reason niya, and because maraming leakages on the pipelines,” she added.
Moreover, MPIW has identified and installed stationary water tanks in areas located in the far end of their network or in areas in high elevation.
Message to consumers
This summer season, Josue is urging their consumers to be mindful of their supply schedule so they can store water which they can use for their daily needs.
With limited water supply, MPIW is requesting everyone to be responsible in using water.
“We continuously ask for our consumers’ patience and understanding as MPIW tries to serve them in so many ways. Our main priority is to renew, rehabilitate aged water infrastructures so we can lessen the water wasted due to old and damaged pipes,” Josue said.
To date, the city’s water distributor has already rehabilitated and replaced 25,200 linear meters of pipelines and replaced 18,000 water meters./PN
