BY NYARIKA DOMINAIS
ILOILO City – The number of barangays in this city facing water shortages due to the El Niño phenomenon has risen to 35, up from 25, according to Engr. Niel Ravena, head of the General Services Office.
In a statement to Panay News, Ravena highlighted that the city government has expanded its water delivery to include 10 additional barangays affected by the scarcity.
The Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) reported that as of May 5, approximately 186,900 liters of water have been distributed to the affected areas.
The barangays receiving emergency water supplies include North Baluarte, West Timawa, Rizal Estanzuela, General Hughes, Ed Ganzon, San Juan, Sto. Rosario, Tanza Baybay, Concepcion, Jereos, Gustilo, Lapuz Norte, and Nabitasan.
To address the critical water needs, the Iloilo City Government has allocated P2.6 million to purchase additional water supplies.
A state of calamity was declared two weeks ago due to water scarcity.
The hot weather spawned by the El Niño phenomenon triggered below-normal rainfall that resulted in the rapid decline of water level in Maasin Dam, the main raw water source of Metro Pacific Iloilo Water MPIW, the major water distributor in the city./PN
