Bacolod needs additional 50M liters of water daily

Bacolod City needs an additional 50 million liters of potable water a day, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said.

On his part, Engr. John Arlan Canatoy of BACIWA-Primewater, admitted to the mayor that there is lack of water supply in the city.

Bacolod has 75 million liters a day (MLD) of water, Canatoy said, “but it is still short by 20 MLD.”

But, Benitez said the estimate of BACIWA is “way too low as it was limited to consumers connected to the water system.”

“It does not anticipate the future growth of Bacolod,” he pointed out.

The mayor said he will call for an emergency meeting this week with the management of the Bacolod City Water District-Primewater, bulk water suppliers, and representatives from concerned national government agencies.

Canatoy also admitted that the delivery of water in some areas of Bacolod is scheduled, while in some areas there is zero to four hours of supply a day.

The problem is worsened by the drop in the bulk water supply provided by suppliers, he added.

The water facility has existing contracts for bulk water outside Bacolod, Canatoy informed the mayor.

Other suppliers will take several years before actual delivery of water, he also said.

During his Sunday radio program “Isugid kay Mayor”, Benitez said he will meet with the mayors of Bago, Murcia, and Talisay on how Bacolod can tap for its water needs.

The Philippine Red Cross (PRC), in a statement on Friday, Jan. 12, said they provided a water tanker to Barangay Mandalagan in response to the struggles of communities with water interruptions.

The PRC reported that since Jan. 4, more than 600 households have been struggling with water interruptions that resulted in locals having “limited to no access to clean water” for a week.

The organization then underscored its immediate action to aid after learning from the PRC Negros Occidental-Bacolod City Chapter that the community had been experiencing this issue.

Approximately 123 affected families in the barangay received around 35,000 liters of water from Jan. 9 to 11, the PRC reported.* (Eugene Y. Adiong)