Big challenge: Improving Bacolod’s water supply

Delivering enough water for the growing population of Bacolod City will be the biggest challenge for the Bacolod Water District this year.

Bacolod’s daily water supply is short by 5,000 cubic meters or approximately 5 million liters.

The city has a water requirement of about 70,000 cubic meters every day,, with demand peaking to 123,000 cubic meters, BACIWA General Manager Juliana Carbon said.

Improving the water supply will be made in stages. The first phase started last November and is expected to be completed this March.

The project of the Bacolod City Water District has been awarded to the consortium led by TubigPilipinas Group, Inc. Mactan Rock Industries and TGV Builders Inc., forming a special purpose company called Bacolod Bulk Water Inc. (BBWI). The contract is for 25 years.

The agreement was signed in March, 2016 and BACIWA and work on the R1.1-billion project started in September 15 that year. They have 18 months to complete the project.

The completed injection point in Barangay Granada will deliver 15,000 cubic meters a day at P8.85 per cubic meters. The injection point 2 in Murcia, a town next to Bacolod, could deliver another 15,000 cubic meters per day at P9.85 per cubic meter.

For the first year, Bacolod will be supplied with 30,000 cubic meters in bulk water a day, gradually increasing to 150,000 cubic meters.

The first injection point was inaugurated last November will supply areas along Burgos Street towards the city’s downtown area.

Carbon said with the first injection point completed, water sufficiency is now at 90 to 95 percent. Once the second injection point is operational in March, the city’s water shortage will become a thing of the past.

There is one problem. The various permits are still being processed by BBWI, with documents for the building and occupancy permits submitted.

Earlier reports said that they still need to have the business permit as they are under contract with BACIWA.